Falling Slowly
by NewHampshireGirl
Summary: Tony knows that Vance and Gibbs are looking the other way when it comes to Ziva's search for Bodnar; he's just denying it. Post "Prime Suspects" AU. Tony/OC, possibly not for Ziva/Tiva fans. Additional warnings posted inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers:** I do not own NCIS, its characters, those belong to CBS and show creators. My claim to fame is my OC Leah Dawson.

 **Warnings:** AU, eventual Tony/OC, eventual McGee/Delilah, spoilers for Season 10 through Season 13

 **A/N:** Hello, everyone! This was my original, very first conception of "Unconditionally", however, I ended up shelving it four years ago. Recently I came across the outline for it on my hard driver, dusted it off, and started polishing it up. You're going to see a little bit different Leah in this (different occupation, slightly different background), however, I think she is pretty close to what has been previous established. However, it's not love at first sight for Tony and Leah. I started writing the story after my complete dissatisfaction at the end of Season 10. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Falling Slowly**

Living out of Chinese take out boxes and her car had become the norm of her life since January. NSA Analyst Leah Dawson popped open a box of Crab Rangoon in the front seat of her tiny, silver Volvo and positioned her cell phone on the dash in case any new information came in.

Through the open window the smell of cherry blossoms permeated the cabin mixing with the fried smell of wontons. Leah had loved spring in D.C from the very day she had been hired by the NSA. Spring had been in full bloom back then and a smart, wide eyed kid from a picturerisque New England town had been dropped in the middle of one of the biggest counterterrorism teams in Washington. It had taken a lot of work to get where she was today—heading up her own operation and passing information onto Homeland Security—Leah had left very little time for herself.

Stuffing a Crab Rangoon into her mouth, Leah flipped open her notebook, using her steering wheel for leverage. On the front of the average, five subject, college ruled book, was simply printed in black marker _Ilan Bodnar._ Four months of intel resided in those pages, four months of dead end leads and sending teams on wild goose chases. She found the page with a photograph of Bodnar at the airport, clearly making his way out of the country after committing an act of, what some politicians were calling, terrorism. Leah supposed that the death of Eli David and a civilian could be considered terrorism. Certainly the manner in which the pair died was terrorism and that had all been before Bodnar car bombed the Iranian national, Arash Kazmi.

Every agency in America was looking Bodnar; Interpol and Mossad were looking for Bodnar. So far the man had eluded all of them and this case had been her entire life for several weeks. Leah glanced at another five-subject notebook on her passenger seat. _Parsa._ She frowned as she thought about being pulled off of that operation but the analyst left on the trail was capable. At the time Leah believed she wasn't going to be working with the CIA that long—she foolishly thought that Bodnar was going to be easy to find and bring in with so many people looking for him.

She stuffed another Crab Rangoon in her mouth and continued to flip through Bodnar's file. Most of the pieces of the puzzle were all there, she just had not been able to find the missing ones and to put them together. Bodnar, Parsa, they connected _somehow,_ she just wasn't sure _how._

On the dash her iPhone buzzed. Leah closed her notebook, finished off her lunch and reached for the phone. _Traced a search for Bodnar back to NCIS. You might want to alert Tom Morrow,_ her co-worker had texted.

Leah tossed the empty container on the floor of the car with a stack of others that she had yet to clean. Starting the Volvo up, she pulled out of her parking spot and headed into the traffic. It had been Morrow's first order to her when she had been assigned to the CIA—keep NCIS' nose out of the Bodnar case. She'd thought she'd done a pretty decent job of making sure her intel was hard to access. NCIS obviously didn't know about the computer program tracking anything related to Bodnar—even simple searches. Really, the agents at NCIS should have been smarter than that, she concluded.

If these federal agents didn't go rogue half the time her job would be much easier. She could sit back and analyze and not have to rush off to these agencies when they needed help. One thing she had learned since coming to Washington that federal agents were impulsive—and they made her life miserable.

 _Complicated,_ Leah corrected herself. _These rogue federal agents make my life complicated. Kind of like every man I have ever dated._

As she parked her car at Homeland Security, little did she knew how complicated NCIS was about to make her life.

* * *

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo stepped into the elevator and slammed his finger onto the button for his floor. He had been a little cranky since returning from the Bahamas, especially after he struck out at the bar the previous night. _Maybe it was the pink shirt…_ "Just because I wore pink doesn't mean I'm gay," Tony mumbled before taking a large sip of his coffee. "Like Dornergat and I would _ever_ be partners."

Someone cleared their throat, alerting him to the fact that he was not alone in the elevator. Tony turned to see a young woman, long light brown hair pulled back in a braid. She was wearing skinny jeans and a white oxford shirt, plain tennis shoes and a visitor badge was clipped to her lapel. "Sorry, were you talking to me?" she asked.

Tony shook his head and offered her a tired smile. "No. Just to myself. I've developed a nasty habit of doing that." He pursed his lips together, and looked at her thoughtfully. "But since I have you here and you're a woman…"

"Oh, I'm glad we cleared that up," she retorted with a small grin.

"What's your opinion on pink? Can straight guys pull it off?" he asked her.

"Is this some odd way to pick me up?"

"Huh? No, I'm not trying to pick you up."

Her eyebrows shot up in curiosity.

He cursed. "Listen, I think you are a very attractive woman…"

She gently rolled her eyes when the door opened. She stepped out without a word.

Tony frowned and stepped out behind her. _Way to put your foot in your mouth, DiNozzo. You're really striking out with the ladies, recently._ He moved into the bullpen and dropped the bag of take-out food onto his desk. "Lunch," he announced, unceremoniously.

Ziva glanced up from her work and smirked at him. "You are grouchy. Did you not have any luck with the pretty woman that got off the elevator with you?"

"Wasn't trying to pick her up," he snapped.

"Sure, whatever you say, Tony," she teased, continuing to smirk at him.

Glaring at her, which she ignored, Tony sat back down at his desk. There had been an obvious change in her since returning from burying her father in Israel. He could only speculate why but his gut was telling him that she was secretly searching for Bodnar and no one in the agency was bothering to stop her. He wouldn't be surprised if Vance was looking the other way.

Tony opened the top drawer of his desk and found the bottle of over-the-counter painkillers he kept there. It had been a long week, capped off by a horrible night at the bar where he had realized that perhaps he was getting too old for the dating scene. After swallowing the pills, he smelled a piney scent and knew that Vance was standing behind him. Glancing up, he half expected the Director to crack some kind of joke, but instead Vance gestured towards the young woman next to him—the young woman from the elevator.

Vance cleared his throat to get Ziva and Tim's attention. "This is Leah Dawson, from the NSA, she came to inform me that her superiors believe one of you is hacking into the CIA about Bodnar. I informed her that we are following Homeland Security's orders not to get involved and our offering our full cooperation."

"Director Vance, I _have_ evidence that someone at NCIS hacked into the CIA," the young woman argued.

"Are any of you hacking into the CIA?" Vance asked, tongue in cheek.

"No, sir," all three agents answered at the same time.

"Of course they're going to say that," the NSA officer fought back. "They don't want to go to jail."

Tony liked her fire, enjoyed it even more when Ziva glared hotly at her. "Nothing gets by you, Miss Dawson," he quipped, grinning.

Her eyes flashed towards him, hot with anger. She looked ready to fire something back, but bit her tongue. "Director Vance, you should be aware that any involvement that NCIS has with this case is violating a direct order from Homeland Security. Measures have been put in place to keep track of you and your team. If I notice any activity, I'm reporting it to Director Morrow."

Vance smiled, tightly at her. "I assure you, Miss Dawson, my team is following that order and will continue to follow it. Do you need me to see you out?"

Realizing that the conversation was over, she relented. "No. I know the way."

Tony watched as she turned on her heel and headed towards the elevator. Pulling down on his suitcoat, he followed her. He slid into the cab and once the doors were closed he flipped the emergency switch. He was impressed when his actions didn't seem to phase her. "You're playing with fire, Miss Dawson."

"I'm playing with fire?" Leah questioned, tightly. "I'm not the one illegally looking for Ilan Bodnar."

"If my team says they're not looking for him, they're not looking for him," Tony argued.

"How can you be sure?"

"I trust my team."

Leah rang her tongue over her lips. "Someone is keeping secrets from you, Agent DiNozzo." I think you've been conned."

Tony glared at her and took a step forward. "How do you know my name? I never told it to you."

She stood her ground. "I told you, your team is being monitored. I know all about you, and right now, someone on your team is conning you."

He clenched his jaw. "Really? I think I would know if I'm being conned."

Leah rolled her eyes. "Right, because you're a big, bad federal agent."

Tony was aware in that moment how incredibly attractive she was, in another place or time he would have been asking her to drinks. "You're messing with the wrong team, Miss Dawson."

"Is that a threat, Agent DiNozzo? You seem smart enough not to threaten the NSA."

"Not a threat, ma'am, a warning. Actually, consider it some friendly advice."

Leah crossed her arms over her chest. "Listen, I know all about Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Believe it or not, your team is always on the perphrial of the NSA. You've created quite the reputation for yourselves, you know that right?"

Tony could tell that she was a capable adversary. Smart, observant— _hot._ "Sometimes you have to bend the rules to get results."

She gazed at him, seriously. "Bend, not break."

He furrowed his brow in frustration. "I don't break the rules, Miss Dawson."

"You don't, but others on your team have. Honestly, it's incredible none of you are in jail."

"Orange isn't my color."

"That's right, you said pink was," Leah responded, coolly. "Can I go now? I have a job to do."

"Sure," Tony said, releasing the emergency swtich.

They rode the elevator down in silence. When they reached the ground floor, the doors opened and he followed her out. Leaning against the wall he watched her walk across the parking lot. "Just remember what I said," he called after her. "I mean it!"

A heavy scent of strong coffee alerted Tony that he was standing there, even before Gibbs said, "Messing with the NSA, DiNozzo?"

Tony smiled, cheekily, in Gibbs' direction. "Should have known you'd know she was NSA. And no, I'm not messing with her, just letting her know not to mess with us."

Gibbs took a sip of his coffee. "Just promise me I won't have to go bail you out of jail, DiNozzo. I don't have the time or patience to train a replacement for you."

"Don't worry, boss," Tony said, getting back inside the elevator, "I'll be good; promise."

"Make sure it's a promise you can keep," Gibbs chided him, hitting the button for their floor.

"I'm curious, boss, how did you know she was NSA?"

"Tom Morrow. He warned me that the CIA was using one of NSA's top analysts to keep tabs on NCIS."

"Was she telling the truth? Someone on our team is looking into Bodnar?"

Gibbs was silent.

Tony pressed on. "Boss?"

"I wouldn't let the NSA worry you, Tony."

"She told me I'm being conned, boss. Am I?"

Gibbs laughed and took another sip of his coffee. "Only if you want to be, DiNozzo," he said before he stepped off the elevator, leaving Tony to ponder what he meant.

Tony felt his headache coming on full bore now. He was beginning to wish that he had taken a sick day.

* * *

Tom Morrow was waiting for her when she returned to the office. Leah wasn't surprised. He had ordered her to keep him appraised of the situation and since January had been stuck to her like glue in his spare time. It was getting rather annoying to her, but he was the head of Homeland Security; there was nothing she could do about it.

Leah just wanted to be back in her car, with the empty Chinese food boxes and her notebooks. Actually, she wanted to be taken off this case entirely, but she knew that was not going to happen. "They denied everything, sir. I actually felt a little insulted that they insinuated i was lying."

Morrow chuckled. "I didn't expect Leon or Jethro to admit their agents were up to no good or to play by the rules. This was a courtesy call, Miss Dawson, so they're aware that you're watching."

"I didn't sign up for this just so you could have someone baby-sit NCIS," Leah argued.

"Miss Bishop is perfectly capable of keeping tabs on Parsa for you."

"Director Morrow…"

"Your job, Miss Dawson, is Ilan Bodnar—find him, help the CIA bring him in."

Leah clutched her fists as he walked away, got into a black town car and was driven away. Finding Bodnar was easier said than done, the guy was Mossad after all. She was beginning to wonder if Tony DiNozzo was right—she was playing with fire and she was dangerously close to getting burned if she wasn't careful.


	2. Chapter 2

**Warnings:** Spoilers for S10, all grammatical errors are my own (if you see one, PM me!)

 **A/N:** Hello everyone! Here is chapter 2! Enjoy! **Thank you for all the kind words and support! If i didn't respond to you, I apologize, life has been hectic the last few days!**

* * *

It was well after one in the morning when Tony stepped off the elevator, dressed now in a casual tee shirt and jeans, and headed towards his desk. It wasn't an uncommon site to see the SFA walk back in well after the day had ended to do work. He always joked that he did his best work at night. However, Tony hadn't been planning on returning to NCIS that evening. It was just that his conversation with Leah Dawson in the elevator that afternoon was bothering him. _Someone is conning you._

Tony flipped his computer on. He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and gently laid it down on his desk. He glanced around the empty bullpen wondering what his team was up to at that moment. Normally, this thought never crossed his mind. _Damn you, Leah._

He sat down at his desk and stared at his screen for a long time before he finally opened a search window and typed in her name. Tony immediately was treated with a screen of information on his NSA foe. His team was up against one of the NSA's best and brightest. She was quite the analyst, responsible for helping counterterrorism units thwart multiple threats. Her father was a Navy admiral, her mother an heiress to a vast fortune; she came from money just like he did. Her academic history was not so different from his own, private school taught, went to college on a sports scholarship—field hockey for her. It startled him slightly that their paths to Washington had been _very_ similar.

She knew what she was doing, and Leah did her job well. That meant it didn't bode well for the team. Tony had his suspicions that Ziva was hunting Bodnar behind their backs, up until today he had just kind of ignored it. He should have known better but he had been ignoring things that Ziva or Gibbs did for years now. No one had taken any offense to it—until that afternoon.

Was she, right? Did Leah have something on his team that could send them to jail? Tony knew she must have, because she would not have ventured over to NCIS to inform them that the NSA was aware someone was illegally tracking Bodnar.

He could no longer deny it, could he? _No,_ Tony concluded, _you can't deny it anymore._ Collapsing back against his chair, he rubbed his hands over his face. He decided that it was time he launched a little investigation of his own—including keeping tabs on a certain NSA analyst.

* * *

Leah was finding it difficult to complete Morrow's orders when he was constantly demanded updates and meetings with her. It had been a few weeks since she had traveled over to NCIS on his request and she had been over at Homeland Security more than she had spent in her office or her car going over her intel.

She had been there so frequently that the security officers knew her name, one even knew her birthday—he flirted with her every time she came by if he was on duty, despite her efforts to suggest that she was not interested in a relationship. Today had been no different when she went through the metal detector, he once again tried to get her number. She turned him down. _He's not as attractive as Agent DiNozzo…_

Even though she had felt a spark between them, she knew it would be an incredibly bad idea to date him, and besides, she wasn't sure she entirely trusted him. Leah was, after all, investigating his team. With this thought in mind, she knocked on Director Morrow's door.

"Miss Dawson," Tom Morrow said, with a faint smile as she entered his office, "come in, have a seat."

"I'm sorry I'm late," Leah said, noticing another man sitting at Morrow's desk. "Traffic."

"Don't worry about it. Secretary Jarvis and I were just catching up," Morrow replied, holding a chair out for her. "Clayton is a little worried about your operation."

Leah sat down and eyed the Secretary of the Navy, cautiously. "Mister Secretary, I can assure that my operation is completely legally."

Jarvis smiled, wistfully. "I'm not really worried about the legality of your operation, Miss Dawson. I'm worried how this is going to reflect on my agency and the Navy. We covered up quite a bit for the CIA when Eli David and Jackie Vance were murdered; I don't want this to come back to bite us in the ass."

She shifted, anxiously. "Mister Secretary, you should be aware that someone at NCIS is ignoring the orders of Homeland Security to stay out of the Bodnar investigation. If it is revealed that it is Director Vance or Agent David—then I'm not sure how positively that is going to reflect on NCIS."

Morrow pursed his lips. "They've been warned they're under investigation, Clayton. Any more involvement at this point could result in criminal charges."

"Has the activity stopped?" Jarvis questioned. "I assume you have NCIS under surveillance."

"Yes, I haven't picked up anything since I went over there a few weeks ago," Leah replied.

"Sounds like they heeded your warning."

"Or they are just getting smarter."

Jarvis chuckled. He tended to believe the latter, but he wasn't going to admit that to her. "Let's talk about something else; I know you were pulled from the trail of Benham Parsa. My sources tell me that the deaths of Eli David and Arash Kazmi are closely tied to him. What do you say?"

Leah glanced at Morrow. She hadn't even discussed her theories about Parsa being involved with the Director of Homeland Security. "I haven't been able to find out the connection; we know that Parsa was in contact with Bodnar, but for reasons why, we haven't figured out yet." _Maybe if you people would stop meeting with me every other day I could solve that puzzle._

"And the CIA?" Jarvis pressed. "What was their involvement?"

"Pardon?" Leah questioned.

"My sources inform me that the CIA is involved as well," Jarvis replied. "It wasn't a very well-kept secret that they were displeased with Eli David as head of Mossad."

"Wait," Leah said, sounding a bit startled, "are you suggesting that the CIA was involved in the deaths of David, Kazmi, _and_ Jackie Vance?"

Jarvis clenched his jaw. "I'm suggesting, Miss Dawson, that things are not always as they appear. It wouldn't be the first time that the CIA has been involved in some shady business."

Leah wasn't going to deny that. She knew enough shady business in Washington to make even a hardened vet's skin crawl, but still, she couldn't come out and admit that there was a possibility that the CIA was involved in those assassinations. It seemed a little too Hollywood movie to her than real life. "So far, my investigation has not uncovered an shady business by the CIA."

Morrow cleared his throat. "We're doing our best, Clayton, to make sure NCIS keeps their hands clean in this investigation, however, you know how difficult Agent Gibbs can be."

"I also know how difficult Agent David can be," Jarvis responded. "I read up on all of them before I started the job."

"You're not concerned that they're a team of loose cannons?" Leah questioned, eyebrows raised. "Clearly, you're worried about their actions reflecing poorly on you."

Jarvis smiled and chuckled. "Your father warned me you were a pistol, Miss Dawson."

Leah frowned. "That's just my father's polite way of saying I'm a pain in the ass."

Morrow took a deep breath just as his phone rang. "Miss Dawson, you're free to go. Keep me updated."

She knew when she had outstayed her welcome. Slowly, Leah got to her feet and proceeded out of the office. It could have gone a lot worse, she concluded. However, she wasn't sure that Jarivs was fond of her working on this investigation. He seemed anxious that she was going to uncover something that was going to expose NCIS.

Maybe that's what those agents needed, because apparently, they thought they were above the law. Well, she was there to tell them that they were not. It was obvious that they weren't used to playing by the rules and that their bosses seemed willing to glance in the other direction if it meant the job got done. The problem was, this job had international consequences.

Her nerves were already frayed from the meeting with Jarvis, that by the time she made it back outside and saw _who_ was leaning against her car, she cursed. _You've got to be kidding me!_

Tony DiNozzo grinned at her, the corners of his eyes creasing underneath a pair of expensive sunglasses. "Figured I'd find you here."

Leah clutched her keys. "What do you want?" she snapped.

"Just keeping a watchful eye on my enemies," he responded, still smiling.

"I am _not_ your enemy," Leah argued, feeling slightly uncomfortable under his gaze. Why did he have to look so sexy in the pricey suit?

Tony pushed off her car and took a step towards her. "You're not? You've been awfully busy digging up information about my team, meeting with Homeland Security behind our backs. That seems like something an enemy would do."

Leah rocked back on her heels for a second. _Breathe,_ she told herself, _just breathe._ "If you think my actions are threatening to you or your team, then maybe you should ask yourself—what don't I want her to find out? If you had nothing to hide, Agent DiNozzo, you wouldn't feel so threatened by me."

He took his sunglasses off, green eyes piercing, causing a heat to rush to her skin. "Let's get something clear—I don't feel threatened by you."

She became aware that he had a very strong, slightly imposing presence. "Sure about that? You're the one keeping tabs on me."

"I like to know what I'm up against."

"Do you now?"

Tony cocked a sly grin. "You have a naughty mind, Miss Dawson."

Leah swallowed. She wasn't one to normally like playing the flirting game, but with him, it was different. "I'm not all sweet and innocent."

His grin grew. "No, I never suspected that you were."

She could tell he was enjoying this, even if he didn't trust her. "Should I expect you to start showing up out of nowhere, now?"

"Do I make you nervous?"

"No, but you are annoying me."

"Good. Then I'm doing my job."

"Am I free to go?"

Tony stepped aside and silently allowed her to get into her car.

Leah shoved the key into the lock and twisted furiously.

He chuckled. "You know that's not good for the car."

She glared at him. Yanking the door open and got inside. "Good bye, Agent DiNozzo," she snapped, slamming the door shut. Leah quickly started her little Volvo up and sped off, catching a quick glimpse at him in the rearview mirror. _Damn him and his sexiness._

* * *

"Where have you been?" Ziva questioned Tony when he finally returned to the bullpen. "You have been gone over an hour."

"I had something that I needed to take care of," Tony responded, not bothering to make eye contact with her.

Ziva looked over at McGee, who simply shrugged his shoulders. The junior agent was never interested in what was going on in Tony's personal life, if it didn't impact NCIS. She was concerned though. The senior field agent had been rather withdrawn for the last few weeks. He had been disappearing for hours at a time and no one, other than her, seemed concerned about that. "Is everything alright?"

Tony glanced up then and managed to muster a fake smile. "Yeah. Everything is peachy. Why are you so curious? Are you worried about me Zee-vah?"

She clenched her fists under her desk. "Yes. You are sneaking around, keeping secrets from us. What happened to the _post-elevator us_?"

"I don't know," Tony snapped. "You tell me."

"What is _that_ supposed to me?" Ziva countered, angrily. "Are you suggesting I am keeping something from you?"

Tony glared at her. It wasn't surprising that she had the audacity to deny that she was hiding the fact that _she_ was looking for Bodnar on the side. He'd been digging around himself into it since Leah Dawson showed up and what he'd uncovered—well he couldn't deny it anymore. Ziva was conducting her own search and sooner or later Homeland Security was going to march off that elevator and put her in cuffs. Didn't she care that she could spend the rest of her days in jail? "I don't know—are you, Ziva?"

Ziva glanced, anxiously at McGee, who was intently watching the exchange. She then stared Tony, straight in the eye, and said, "No. I am not keeping anything from you."

He slammed the desk drawer, that he kept his gun and badge in, shut. Tony sat down at his computer and booted it up. "So," he said, tightly, "I guess we're fine."

She didn't appear to feel that way. "I thought we were a team."

"We are," Tony said.

"If we were, you would not be hiding the fact that you having been sneaking around to see Leah Dawson," Ziva hissed.

Tony's eyebrows shot up. He knew she was spying on him. He'd felt it in his gut that last few days. "Are you jealous that I might be fraternizing with the enemy?"

Ziva narrowed her eyes. "She is dangerous. You should be careful."

He chuckled, low in his throat. "She isn't any more dangerous than you are, Ziva."

She shifted, face tight with jealousy and anger. "I am not trying to throw our team in jail!"

"Neither is Leah," Tony spat, getting angry.

"Are you joking? She was here just a few weeks ago, threatening…" Ziva sighed, hotly.

"Yeah, I was there," Tony nearly shouted, glaring. "She's doing her _job;_ to find Ilan Bodnar. We have a missing husband to find, so I suggest you stick to yours, okay?"

Ziva knew that the argument was over. He didn't deny that he was meeting up with the NSA analyst, but he had not really confirmed it either. All she knew was that Tony was keeping a small notebook of Leah Dawson's movements in the center drawer of his desk, which, didn't offer many clues. Angrily she stood, mumbled that she was going to get coffee, grabbed her wallet, and stomped out of the bullpen.

Tony quietly went back to work. At first he had been watching Leah to prove her wrong, that his teammates were not ignoring the orders of Homeland Security, however, after weeks of finding out his own intel, he knew otherwise. He didn't entirely trust Leah Dawson; she was after all NSA and he certainly wasn't sure what her endgame was—however, he did trust her to do her job. Right now, with all the secrets being kept between the team, her job appeared to be locking up the MCRT.


	3. Chapter 3

**Warnings:** Same as usual; minor spoilers for S10.

 **A/N:** Here is the next chapter! Thank to everyone that has taken the time to leave a review, I have been reading them, just have not had the time to respond to them. Also, thank to everyone that has put my little story on their alerts or favorites, it means a lot to me!

* * *

"Hey," a voice said over her shoulder, "you told me to let you know if anything suspicious happened—well something suspicious is going on, right now."

Leah glanced up from her desk to see one of her young, upstart interns standing in front of her, an eager look on his face. She'd had a headache most of the day, thanks to thinking about that confrontation with Tony a couple of days prior, and with no new leads on either Bodnar or Parsa. Right now, it didn't appear that the headache was going to let up anytime soon. "What happened?"

The intern threw a thumb over his shoulder, indicating that he wanted her to join him down the hall. "Got some activity about Bodnar on a local computer; someone is looking for him. Issac is working on tracing the I.P address right now, but we think the person is in Washington."

"Is it a government server?" Leah asked, standing up and following the intern down the hall.

"No, private," the intern said with a shake of his head. "It's definitely originating in D.C though."

 _Clever,_ Leah thought. She knew that NCIS wasn't giving up the hunt for Bodnar, she just knew they had gotten smarter about it. When she stepped into the other room, Issac looked up at her.

Issac was fresh out of college, knew all the latest hacking tricks. He'd been the one that had alerted her to the first time someone at NCIS start snooping around for information on Bodnar. "I traced the IP address to an apartment building."

Leah glanced at the map on the screen. She knew about this particular part of town, but she had never traveled there herself."That's a rather shady part of town. Are you sure that's where it's coming from, Issac?"

"Definitely," Issac said. "I ran the trace three times."

"Great," Leah mumbled, pulling out her cell phone. She quickly opened up her notepad. "Give me the address. I'm going to go check it out."

* * *

Tony sat in his car, eyes trained on a rather rundown building. He had followed Ziva here about an hour ago. Since no one had followed her into the building he concluded that this was not a place she was meeting up for a romantic fling, but rather, she was using it to disguise her tracks.

He was surprised—and relieved—that McGee didn't show up with her. Perhaps, Ziva had not coerced the junior agent into working with her like Tony had believed. Which meant that she probably had help from the outside. _Just when I thought we were done with Mossad,_ he thought, angrily.

Lights reflected in his rearview mirror and he saw a car pull up. Tony was intrigued. There had been no traffic on this street for the last hour, it was pretty much abandoned. So, either someone else was using this building for their shady business—or someone was coming to help Ziva.

"Damn," Tony muttered when he saw who got out of the car. He yanked his door open and stepped in her path. "What the hell are you doing?"

"What the hell are _you_ doing?" Leah snapped, rocking back on her heels because he'd startled her. "I followed an IP address trace here. _Someone_ is running searches for Bodnar. Do you know who it is, Agent DiNozzo?"

Tony swallowed. He briskly walked towards her, grabbed her by the arm and moved around his car. He opened the passenger door and instructed her to get inside before Ziva's ninja sense kicked in and she noticed them on the street. He shut the door and proceeded to the driver's side. He got into the car and quietly shut his door. "Did you come here alone?"

Leah glared at him slightly. She was confused by his question. What did it matter if she came here alone? "Yes. I left my team working on the case back at the NSA and came here. Why?"

He set his jaw and glanced out the window at the building. "This is a pretty dangerous part of town. I didn't know you passed your firearms qualifications."

She furrowed her brow. Was he concerned about her? "I didn't. I mean, I never took them. I don't carry a weapon."

"So, you thought it was a smart idea to come here, in the middle of the night, alone?"

"I was only going to go talk to the person using the private server."

Tony chuckled. "And what if you met someone that didn't _want_ you to talk?"

Leah nervously looked way. "I didn't think about that."

He leaned back in his seat and stared at her, seriously. "You think too much like an analyst. Out here, that line of thinking is going to get you killed."

She threw him a heated look. "I wouldn't have to be out here if your team would just listen to Homeland. I could have you arrested for conspiring with her, since you're sitting out here, obviously on the look out."

"Actually, I'm here on stake out."

" _You're_ keeping Agent David under surveillance? Does Agent Gibbs know?"

Tony shook his head. "Nope."

Leah was even more confused. "I don't get it; a few days ago, you basically told me to back off."

He turned on his charm and smiled at her. "And I still want you to back off, Miss Dawson. I'm doing this to keep my team out of jail."

She felt butterflies in her stomach. Why did that always happen when he smiled at her? "If Agent David is searching for Bodnar on her own, you might not be able to keep her out of jail."

"You know, she's not from here," Tony pointed out. "She's Mossad at heart and they, well, they do things differently."

"I know," Leah argued, "but she swore off that life when she became a U.S citizen and an NCIS agent."

"I'm just trying to protect her."

"Is it worth risking your career?"

Tony's smile faded, his jaw tightened. "I'm not going to turn my partner in."

Leah could see that he was fiercely loyal; perhaps too much. "I hope she's just as loyal to you."

His jaw twitched but he didn't say a word.

She knew she had touched a sore spot based on his reaction. "I have to report this to Director Morrow."

"I know."

"He isn't going to be happy."

"I know," Tony repeated.

"What are you going to do?" Leah asked, in a hushed tone.

Tony sighed and looked at her, his green eyes softening. "I don't know," he whispered for the third time. The truth was, he didn't know what to do. He had walked away from Baltimore so he wouldn't have to turn his partner in. Danny was laundering money—a minor offense compared to what was happening if Ziva's meddling led to international conflict.

Leah felt her defenses melting away. Her hostile feelings towards him were slowly dissolving; depending on how her meeting with Morrow went in the morning, well, things could certainly change. For now, she didn't hate him as much. _Fess up, you never hated him at all._ "Director Morrow might want to speak to you; you might have to tell him all you know, or risk committing perjury."

He scratched an imaginary itch behind his ear. Tony understood since Leah had caught him he was probably going to be dragged into Homeland and be questioned. "Don't worry about me, Miss Dawson. I can take care of myself." He suddenly leaned over her and opened her door. "Speaking of taking care of oneself, you should go home. Get out of this seedy part of town, okay?"

She felt the cool spring air blast her in the face. It wasn't clear if he was worried for her safety, or more worried that Ziva was going to find them out here spying on her. She decided that it was probably best to listen to him. Leah silently got out of the car, and without a word shut the door behind her.

Tony watched as she got into her Volvo, started it up, and drove off. After a few minutes of staring in the mirror, thinking about her, he decided that he should heed his own advice and go home.

* * *

Tom Morrow rubbed his forehead. Coffee in one hand, the other hand shoved in the pocket of his trousers, he stood before the window in his office, trying to figure out what his next move was going to be. Leah Dawson had brought him more evidence that NCIS was possibly using private servers to conduct a search for Ilan Bodnar that very morning—Leon Vance was his friend, he could understand the desire to find the man responsible for murdering his wife, but at the same time, Morrow could not stand by and let NCIS compromise the case. This was a case with national security implications and if handled wrong could be disastrous.

It appeared that they were on a collision course where one of the finest teams at NCIS was going to end up behind bars. He had been up for most of the evening trying to come up with a plan. The one he had finally decided on about an hour or so after Leah had left his office was not going to make anyone happy.

He picked up his phone and asked his assistant to get Vance on the phone. A few moments later it rang, and Tom picked up. "Leon."

" _I hope this is important,"_ Vance said, sounding annoyed. " _We're busy over here."_

"Miss Dawson came to see me this morning," Tom said, remaining calm. "She traced a search for Bodnar on a private server, to a rather shady part of D.C. When she arrived she found Agent DiNozzo staking the building out…"

" _I did not authorize that, Tom,"_ Vance replied, sounding sincere.

"Yes, I know," Tom said. "DiNozzo was acting on his own; covering Agent David's back."

Vance grunted as if he wasn't surprised. " _Do you want me to send them over for questioning, Tom? You know that Agent David will deny everything and I'm not entirely sure what exactly Agent DiNozzo was up too._ "

Tom rubbed his forehead once again. "I do not need to see them right now; I'm very busy too, you know. However, I think I have come up with a solution to our problem, Leon. I know Jethro is going to hate it, frankly at this point I do not care. Agent David needs to stop investigating her father's murder, but I know that there is no stopping her. I'm hoping that my solution at least stalls her long enough for Bodnar to be arrested through proper channels."

" _What are you proposing?_ "

"The CIA has agreed to let Miss Dawson liaison with NCIS. This is _her_ case, Leon."

" _Very well."_

"She reports her findings to Jerome," Tom continued, "and Agent David is to have zero access."

" _Tom, that isn't going to stop her from conducting her own investigation…"_

"I realize this but ground rules need to be established."

Vance paused for a moment. " _You're doing this to keep the rest of the team from helping her."_

Tom set his jaw. "The more agents I keep out of jail the better."

 _"When should I expect Miss Dawson?"_

"Early tomorrow morning; make sure Jethro welcomes her, Leon."

Vance chuckled, sarcastically. _"I can't promise that, Tom. I can promise that she'll be treated with respect and professionalism."_

Tom sighed and realized that was probably the best he could hope for. He hung up with the NCIS director and called for a car—it was time to break the news to Leah that she was on the move again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Warnings:** Same as usual. Spoilers for S10

 **A/N:** I apologize for the long wait. I needed to take a little break from writing, but I wanted to get this up before going away this weekend. Hope you enjoy! Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows. Keeps me going!

* * *

Tony was exhausted. For the last several days he had been following Ziva to that run down building, for reasons he wasn't even sure why; he never confronted her. Leah Dawson never showed up again either, but Tony knew she had to be aware that Ziva was searching for Bodnar from that rundown part of town.

He had been up most of the night, tossing and turning, and had gotten very little sleep. No amount of coffee was going to get him through the grind of his job. Tony was hoping for an easy day. Of course, that was not going to be the case, it never was and especially when he saw who was sitting at _his_ desk. "Miss Dawson," he greeted, coolly.

Leah smiled, shyly at him. She looked like she had gotten more sleep then he did the previous night, and for the first time since he'd met her, she was wearing her hair down. "Agent DiNozzo."

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked, almost fearing the answer.

"Miss Dawson will be staying with us for a while," Gibbs announced behind him.

He whipped around to face the team leader, saw his partners standing on the other side of the cubicle with similar shocked expressions. "Boss?"

Gibbs glowered and sat down at his desk. "Homeland has assigned Miss Dawson to NCIS for the duration of the Bodnar case; DiNozzo, McGee, you'll be working for her when she needs it."

Tony glared, heatedly at the woman sitting at his desk. "Work _for_ her?" he repeated. What kind of game was Homeland playing? _Whatever it is, I don't like it._

"Yes, for her," Gibbs snapped. "It's her case."

"Boss," Tony started to argue.

"DiNozzo," the team leader snarled, "this isn't up for discussion. Miss Dawson is here to stay."

"Wonderful," Tony mumbled. He snapped his fingers and gestured for her to get up. "You can't have my desk."

Leah pouted and produced his _American Pie_ mug. "But it has a coffee mug of one of my favorite movies."

Tony gently took her by the arm and directed her across the bullpen, and behind the cubicle wall. "Here. You can use this desk—and keep the mug, consider it a welcome gift."

She smiled coyly as he went back to his own desk, and then reached down to retrieve her laptop. Behind her she could feel the other agents' eyes on her, burning holes in her back. Leah knew it wasn't going to be fun coming over here, she had argued with Morrow about it, but he had insisted this was the best way to keep the least number of federal agents from committing crimes and out of jail.

"Gear up," Gibbs announced, startling her. "Wife came home to find the house torn up, husband missing."

"Is she sure he didn't just run off," Tony surmised, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Maybe he doesn't want to be found."

"She insists that the marriage was fine and that he wouldn't just vanish like this," Gibbs said with a shrug. "It's our job to determine what really happened." He paused and looked at Leah for a second, who was sitting watching. "Unless of course, you need my agents, Miss Dawson."

Leah felt the teeny bit of hostility in his voice. She shook her head. "No. When I find a credible lead, I'll let them know. They're free to join you."

Gibbs grunted, making it very clear to her that he was not happy with the current situation, and with his agents in tow, stormed out of the bullpen.

* * *

It was quiet in the NCIS bullpen without the MCRT around. The rest of NCIS went about their business and didn't seem to care much that she was in the building. Although, she could have sworn she was being spied on by a tall, lanky guy wearing glasses and a woman dressed as a goth, but she couldn't be sure.

Every time she turned to glance in the direction she saw them, they were gone. Leah didn't focus on it too much. She had other things to do. At some point she managed to find the staff lounge to make a pot of coffee and it was while she was rummaging around looking for coffee when he joined her.

"Just so you know," Tony's voice said from behind her, "I still don't trust you."

"That's okay," Leah said, turning to give him a sweet smile. "I still don't trust you, either. Guess we're even."

Tony straightened his broad shoulders, took a step closer to her, entering her space. He noticed that her eyes dilated, slightly, and he did his best to suppress a smirk of pride—if he even hinted at her that he reciprocated her attraction, hell, she'd probably eat him alive. "I once told a friend of mine _not_ to tangle with the Great White; piss off Gibbs and you're going to have more problems than just Ilan Bodnar."

Leah's fingers curled around his mug in her hand. "I'm not afraid of Agent Gibbs."

He chuckled. "There's your first mistake. You should be."

She frowned. "Why? What makes Gibbs all-powerful?"

"Ever seen what happens when an animal is cornered?"

"I don't think Gibbs is going to rip my throat out."

Tony chuckled, again; a husky, sexy, low in his throat chuckle that made her involuntarily shiver. "He won't do it literally, but figuratively, Miss Dawson… I wouldn't corner him if I were you."

Leah ran her tongue over her lips. "Believe it or not, Agent DiNozzo, I'm not here to corner _any_ of you. I'm here to do my job, to find Bodnar and have him arrested for committing murder on American soil. We're on the same side."

He smiled at her, his eyes sharp and clear as he studied every feature on her. Tony decided, right then and there, that she was much prettier with her hair down, rolling over her shoulders in soft waves. He reached out then and flicked one of those waves behind her ear. "Gibbs wanted me to check in with you."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. Her heart was beating a mile a minute with him standing so close to her, touching her even if it was just a faint one. "If you're asking if I need you for something, then no."

His grin grew. "Sure you don't _need_ me?"

Her cheeks flushed. "For the case; I don't need you for the case."

"Okay," Tony said, backing away with that damn smile still on his face. "I'll check in with you later."

"Great," Leah mumbled underneath her breath as he walked away. "Just great."

Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. Leah fished it out and glanced at the screen. It was a message from Issac. _Bodnar's in Europe._ Leah glanced up in the direction that Tony had just wandered away in. Europe was a big place; she didn't need him—yet. First, she needed to narrow down _where_ in Europe Bodnar was, and then she'd face the NCIS agents. Shoving her phone back into her pocket, she hurried back to her desk, forgetting all about the coffee she had wanted.

* * *

"DiNozzo," Gibbs warned, breaking the tense silence in the bullpen.

Tony snapped back to attention. He must have been staring at her again. He couldn't get her off his mind since their chat in the staff lounge. His attraction was bubbling at the surface, threatening to take hold of him at any moment if he wasn't careful. This was only the third time that the team leader had caught and scowled at him in the last twenty minutes. He mumbled an apology and went back to work.

Leah continued to work without even knowing she was being watched. She was sitting on the floor, photographs and maps spread out in front of her. He was completely captivated by her, her intense focus and work ethic. No wonder she was revered as one of the NSA's top analysts, once she was a in zone, nothing seemed to phase her.

He peeked over his computer screen at her one more time, making sure that it was just a quick look. This time she must have felt his eyes on her, because she looked up, caught his attention and smirked at him. Something fluttered in his stomach. It had been a _long_ time since a woman did that to him. _Not since Jeanne…_

"DiNozzo. Do I have to head slap you?" Gibbs snarled.

"Sorry, boss," Tony said, with a shake of his head. "Getting back to work."

"Good," Gibbs snapped. "McGee thinks he tracked the husband. Take Ziva and go get him."

Tony nodded and stood up, thankful for getting the chance to retreat from the bullpen and the distraction that Leah caused him. He reached into his drawer for his weapon and badge—and then Leah cleared her throat.

All four agents looked at the young woman sitting on the floor. Leah smiled, a little too sweetly at them. "Agent Gibbs, I'm going to need Agent DiNozzo and Agent McGee's help. It's just that, I need to use MTAC and I don't have clearance to go in there on my own. I need an agent to accompany me."

Gibbs glared at her. "Take McGee. You don't need both agents for that."

Leah glanced up at McGee. "Well, I need Agent McGee to track something for me. He has a bit of reputation at NSA."

McGee looked surprised. "I do?"

"Fastest hacker in the East," Tony murmured. He glanced at an obvious irate Gibbs. "Boss?"

"I'll go with Ziva," Gibbs spat, grabbing his gear. "You help Miss Dawson with whatever she needs."

Tony licked his lips and watched as his partner and boss stormed out of the bullpen. Warning bells went off immediately in his head. Ziva had not protested Leah's orders, hadn't even questioned _why_ Leah needed both Tony and McGee. He could only conclude that she knew what Leah had already uncovered. "So, I guess we're yours, Miss Dawson," he drawled with a grin.

Leah rolled her eyes and stood up. She handed something to McGee. "Bodnar was last seen in London. Here's what I know. Is there any way you can track his movements?"

McGee looked a little anxious. "Yeah. Sure."

"Thanks," Leah said, she reached for her purse.

"Wait? Where are you going?" Tony asked, exasperated.

"Dinner. Do you guys like Chinese?" Leah inquired. "I think we're going to be here all night."

"I thought you needed me to get into MTAC?"

"I will. Later. Right now, we need to get something to eat."

Tony looked, angrily at McGee, then went to his desk. He grabbed his gun and badge, and the keys to the Charger. "Let's go. We'll get this done faster if I drive."

Leah shook her head. "I really don't need you to drive me to get take out." When he flashed her an angry look, she knew not to argue. Instead, she headed towards the elevator with him, climbed inside, and hugged her purse to her chest. When the elevator was on its way, she whispered, "Are you angry at me?"

He laughed. "Yeah, just a little. You took me from my job to get dinner."

She bit on her lower lip, nervously. "I needed to get Gibbs and Ziva out of the building."

"Why?"

"I believe that Bodnar is setting up a meeting with a former colleague to get some money."

"So he can keep running."

Leah nodded. "Yes, and if I can figure out where that meeting is going to take place, then we can arrest him."

Tony flicked the emergency switch and stopped the elevator. "You were afraid that if you said anything out loud, that Gibbs might have told Ziva."

She nodded once again. "I can't figure him out. Director Morrow warned me that he can be a loose cannon. I don't think it's a risk I can take."

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "Where do you think Bodnar is going?"

"Rome. If I'm right, McGee should be able to trace him to Italy."

"There's a good chance that Ziva already knows where Bodnar is going."

"I know."

"What are you going to about that?"

"Hopefully," she said, softly, "get to Bodnar first."

"You know," he said, "there's also a good chance that _I'll_ tell Ziva."

Leah looked at him seriously. "You won't; you want to protect her."

Tony sighed and started the elevator up again. "Alright then," he said, "Let's get that take out and then make sure you do get to Bodnar first."


	5. Chapter 5

**Warnings:** Same as usual.

 **A/N:** I apologize for the long delay, the month of July was crazy for me and I had no time to sit down a write and edit. I hope to get back to a regular posting schedule! Enjoy!

* * *

"You're certain he's in Europe?" Tom Morrow asked her over the video feed in MTAC. "All the intel that has been gathered, thus far, suggest that he's still somewhere in North America."

"The photographs that Issac discovered have Bodnar leaving D.C shortly after the murders and heading overseas," Leah replied. "Everyone was looking for him in the United States; he's not here. My guess is he's trying to get home to Israel to meet up with his supporters."

Morrow's brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed in on Tony, lurking in the background. He was apprehensive about allowing DiNozzo and McGee access to the case, but it really was their only option if Homeland wanted to keep NCIS' nose as clean as possible. He knew that Tony toed the line, never crossed it, but that had been the DiNozzo of ten years ago—Morrow wasn't sure if Gibbs had changed the man to play by his rules. "Have you been in touch with Interpol?"

Leah nodded. "Yes. I've also been in talks with MI6," she said, tossing a little glare at Tony. Once she had suggested contacting the Bristish Intelligence agency she had been subjected to James Bond movie references and a Sean Conery impression. "They're looking into whether or not Bodnar entered the United Kingdom and where he might have gone from there."

"You'll let me know the moment you find his location?" Morrow inquired.

"Yes, sir," Leah said, firmly.

Tony watched as the screen went dark, and he couldn't help commenting, "You know, if you wanted to get me alone—in the dark—all you had to do was ask."

Leah felt her heart slam against her ribcage. God, the thought of being _alone_ with him in that manner… "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she snapped.

He chuckled. "Are you telling me you wouldn't?"

She wanted to give him as heated a glare as she possibly could, but not so pure thoughts ran through her brain. "Thought you didn't trust me or even liked me that much?"

"Doesn't mean it wouldn't be enjoyable."

"Sex is sex right?"

Tony grinned at her boldness. She might be surprised by how much he _did_ like her. "So, Miss Dawson, what do we do now?"

Leah blinked, partially confused. "What do you mean?"

"It's late. We probably should get some sleep."

"Oh. You mean… you were talking about the case."

"Yeah… what did you _think_ I was talking about?" He asked her with a cheeky grin.

"Go home," she ordered, trying to keep her composure. "Just keep your cell phone on."

"I would never break rule three," Tony said, turning to go.

"Rule three?" Leah questioned.

Tony tossed her an easy smile. "Something Gibbs taught me. Never been unreachable. See, he isn't that bad of a guy after all. Good night, Miss Dawson. Sweet dreams."

Leah chewed on her lower lip as she watched him leave her in MTAC alone. Why did she find him so attractive? He got under her skin, he watched her every move, and he had thinly disguised threats to her when he told her not to mess with his team—and yet, she still found him desirable. "Damn him," she muttered under her breath, finally pivoting and heading out of MTAC.

If everything went according to plan, if Issac and her team back at the NSA was able to pull together the information she needed to issue an arrest warrant for Bodnar, Leah could leave NCIS behind— _leave him behind._ She was shocked by the funny, tingly feeling she got in the pit of her stomach when she thought about that.

"We have a problem," Tony's voice rose over the quiet hum of the air compressors.

"A problem? What do you mean?" Leah asked, looking down at him from the catwalk. She didn't like the fire in his eyes.

"I left my computer up and running while I went to the bathroom," McGee said when Leah joined them.

Leah wasn't sure why _that_ was such a problem, but she was willing to play along. "Okay."

Tony set his jaw. "When Tim came back, it was shut down."

McGee licked his lips. "Someone used my computer while I was in the bathroom."

"Who?" Leah asked. There was no one in the building _but_ them and one other team, who she knew for a fact was out on call.

"Ziva," Tony said. "We pulled security footage."

"She knows where what we're working on," McGee added.

Leah shook her head to clear her thoughts. "It doesn't mean she's one step ahead of us."

Tony sighed, heavily. "Oh, you poor, misguided, little NSA soul. She is _absolutely_ one step ahead of us. I'm sure she's already contacted her cohorts over in Mossad. I know where she is, let Tim and I go run some interference to give your guys time."

"How do I know you won't help her?" Leah argued.

"You have to trust me," Tony answered.

"Trust? I think we've already established we do not trust one another."

"Listen, we can stand here and argue about this all night—while Ziva slips away and kills Bodnar. Is that what you want?"

She rocked back on her heels. Leah knew she had very little choice but to trust him. "Fine," she ground out. "But make sure you keep me updated and bring Ziva back here. Someone has to keep an eye on her."

* * *

Tony parked the car a few doors down from the building he knew Ziva was conducting her little operation in.

McGee audibly gasped. " _This_ is where Ziva is? My God, it's one of the sleaziest parts of D.C!"

"She didn't want to be found. No one would ask questions around here," Tony said, shutting the car down. "She's in way over her stubborn head, McGee; and she doesn't even realize it."

"You think Leah Dawson is going to have the D.O.J issue an arrest warrant for her?" McGee asked, his voice low. "I mean, she didn't seem happy about all this."

Tony pulled the keys out of the ignition and opened his door. "If Ziva continues to interfere, not even Gibbs is going to be able to save her," he said, before slamming the Charger's door shut.

McGee climbed out of the car and followed him down the dark, dank street. "She isn't going to like this," he countered, adding to himself _she might try to kill us._

The senior agent firmly squared his shoulders. Tony felt torn between his duty to uphold the law and his duty to protect his partner. There was no easy answer here. "I know that, Tim," he whispered, opening the old, dingy door to the building. "But someone has to save her from herself."

"Sure this has nothing to do with the fact you've got the hots for the NSA girl?" McGee asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" Tony snarled, spinning on his heel. "You think I'm doing this because I want to bang Leah Dawson?"

"You've been awfully flirty with her," McGee said, calmly. "And since Ziva… well… you know…"

Tony ground his teeth. "Pretend that I don't, Tim."

McGee shuffled his feet nervously. "Everyone in the building thinks you're only going after Leah because you want to make Ziva jealous. And all this talk about protecting the team is nothing but, well, talk, just to get her into bed."

His green eye flared with fury and for a second McGee thought for sure Tony was going to beat the crap out of him. He took a step back, away from the raging bull that Tony had become. "You know… I don't believe that Tony, not for a moment. I'm just… I don't want _you_ to get all tangled up in this. You're too good of agent to go to jail over something stupid that Ziva is doing."

"I won't," Tony snapped. "Last time I did, she nearly killed me."

"Huh?" McGee questioned. What was he talking about?

Tony chuckled. "Of course you don't know. I never told anyone, not even Gibbs, because I thought it was best." _I thought I ws protecting her. What an idiot I was._ "She took me down; when I was injured, when I was unarmed, and pressed her gun into my chest. For a minute or two I really thought she was going to pull the trigger. And I was so blindly in love with her, that I wanted her to do because I thought I _deserved_ it for hurting her."

McGee was besides himself. His eyes portrayed disbelief and horror. "Does… does Leah Dawson know that?" If she did that could really put a nail in Ziva's firgurative coffin.

He set his jaw and shook his head. "No. And you're not to tell her, Timothy. Understood?"

It was obvious McGee was not comfortable keeping a physical assault secret. His eyes betrayed him. "But… Tony."

"Fine, I'll make it an order then. Do not tell Leah."

"Fine. I won't tell her."

Tony continued up the stairs to the floor that they had tracked Ziva too. He was praying that by the time he returned to NCIS, with Ziva kicking and screaming no doubt, Leah would have found Bodnar and sent a team to arrest him. _And this will all be over._

McGee suddenly tapped him on the shoulder, alerting him to the fact that they had arrived at the apartment the signal was emanating from. He braced himself for the storm that was about to come when Tony knocked, furiously, on the old, wooden door.

Slowly, the door creaked open and two, dark, brown eyes peered back at them. The barrel of a gun could briefly been seen, and for a brief second McGee wondered if perhaps Ziva was going to kill them…

"What are you doing here?"

"Leah knows what you're up too."

"Are you here to arrest me?"

Tony frowned. "No. She ordered us to bring you back to NCIS before you compromise this whole case, Ziva."

Ziva glared at him. "Compromise? I am the only one finding out real information."

He clenched his fists at his sides. Tony didn't bother to look at McGee. "Leah already tracked Bodnar to Europe. She's got a team ready to move into place… but if you keep this up… you're going to tip Bodnar off and she'll have to start over."

She went to close the door but Tony wedged his arm between it to stop her. Ziva was practically spitting venom. "It did not take very long for you to jump into bed with her, hmmm? A record, even for you, Tony."

"I'm not sleeping with her," Tony snapped. "I'm doing my job. Don't make us arrest you, Zee-vah."

"Ziva, come on," McGee urged. "Bodnar's not worth screwing up your career over."

"Gibbs…"

"Gibbs has given Leah full authorization to use NCIS resources to close this case…"

Ziva unlatched the lock and pushed past her partners. "I hope you know what you're doing," she growled under her breath as she took off down the hall with a bite in her step.

Tony took a deep, calming breath before he followed—he had a sneaky suspicion that he was going to be playing referee when he made it back to headquarters.


	6. Chapter 6

**Warnings:** Same as usual. If you see a mistake, please PM me :)

 **A/N:** Happy Sunday! I hope you enjoy this update!

* * *

Rome. Her parents had taken her to Rome when she was nine. Leah remembered very little of the trip, besides the fact that her older sister, Lauren, had been very upset that her boyfriend had not be allowed to come with the family—she made the rest of them miserable for the entire time they were in Italy.

Somehow, Leah wasn't sure her current trip to Rome was going to be any less miserable. Especially if Director Morrow was going to order Tony DiNozzo to accompany her. Director Vance already seemed less than thrilled that he couldn't send his own team…something told her that he preferred Gibbs going to Italy over Tony. Gibbs on the other hand, Leah observed, seemed more then fine to ship Tony out with her. _Probably because it gets you out of his hair for a few days…_ Gibbs suddenly gave her a knowing smile. Did he know what she was thinking?

Leah shifted her weight and anxiously glanced at the elevator. Tony had called about twenty-five minutes ago and said they had found Ziva and were on their way back to NCIS.

Gibbs stood up and moved across the bullpen towards her. "Have you ever gone on a field assignment?" he asked, sound seriously concerned. "Or does the NSA keep you locked up in front of a computer?"

"I've been overseas helping to track terrorists," Leah snapped, defensively.

"Tracking terrorists from a military base is very different than tracking a killer in the streets of Rome," Gibbs pointed out.

"Isn't that why Agent DiNozzo is coming with me?"

"Agent DiNozzo is coming with you so you don't get killed. Wouldn't look good if the NSA analyst daughter of a senator was murdered."

Leah chewed on the inside of her cheek. "How did you find out about that? It's classified."

Gibbs chuckled. "When you've been around D.C long enough, like me, you have your ways."

She clenched her jaw. "Secretary Jarvis."

He shrugged. "He might have mentioned something to me."

"Fine, so my father is Senator Dawson, big deal."

"Why keep it secret?"

"Didn't want his position to influence my career. I worked my ass off to get here, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs chuckled again just as the elevator dinged. He glanced up to see Ziva storm off out of the cab, Tony and McGee cautiously following behind her. Immediately, the former Mossad agent's dark brown eyes honed in on Leah.

Leah braced herself; she'd pissed off plenty of federal agents in the past to know when they were furious. However, she never actually feared any of them might kill her.

Tony tossed his trench coat in the corner near his desk and furiously snapped, "Boss, I need a vacation after all this is over—a long, long vacation."

"Ms. Dawson found Bodnar," Gibbs said, casually, "this could be over soon."

"Fantastic," Tony ground out. "Where is he?"

"Rome," Leah replied. "Phone calls from his brother in Israel indicate that Bodnar is on the move to meet up with supporters."

Ziva ground her jaw. "I already figured that out."

Leah stood her ground. "Yes, but my people figured it out _legally._ "

Tony could almost feel the fire burning in Ziva's eyes. He half expected her to take a swing at Leah. "What does Homeland want you to do?"

"Go to Rome," Leah replied.

"Alone?" Tony countered, surprised, concerned.

"No, DiNozzo," Gibbs interjected. "Morrow would like an NCIS agent go with her."

"Then I should go," Ziva said. "I know Bodnar best."

"With all due respect, Agent David, Director Morrow wants you _off_ this case, _immediately."_

"He does not have the right…"

"He does," Gibbs silenced her. "And he used that right to take you off the case."

"But, Gibbs," Ziva argued, "We all know I am the best person for this job!"

Tony moved towards his desk. This argument could go on all night. At this point, the best person for this job was anyone but his team. He just wanted to be done with this case—as he sat down and glanced at Gibbs, he immediately knew _he_ wasn't done with this case. _Damn it._

Gibbs' blue eyes flickered in Leah's direction. "Director Morrow has requested that you accompany Miss Dawson to Rome. Her job will be to lead Interpol and Mossad to Bodnar, yours will be to watch her six."

He looked at Leah. While Tony didn't doubt she was an excellent analyst and would be able to follow the trail to Bodnar, he seriously doubted if she was field assignment material— _and you didn't like the idea of her going alone._ "Watch it from who, boss, Bodnar or Mossad… both perhaps?"

"I know that Mossad isn't necessarily trustworthy, but they know Bodnar the best," Leah argued.

"Yeah," Tony argued back, "see if you're saying that when they get you killed or kill you themselves."

"Well that's why you're coming with me," she shot at him, smiling tightly.

"Oh goodie, we can get shot together," he retorted.

"If you can't do this job, Agent DiNozzo, then I'll find someone else who can."

"Don't worry, Miss Dawson, I can do the job."

Ziva scoffed, snapped under her breath, "You'll definitely _do_ someone…"

Tony stood up, slamming his chair against the filing cabinet behind his desk. "Excuse me?" he yelled at his partner. "If you want to talk about who _not to_ sleep around with, I have a few _you've_ done we can talk about."

Leah wasn't sure what can of worms she had just unintentionally opened, but they did not have the time to fight this out. Tony and Ziva could that on _their_ own time, not hers. "Can we not? This isn't the Jerry Springer Show, this is a federal agency, and like it or not, we have more important matters to attend too."

"I suggest you all go home and rest," Gibbs replied, narrowing his glare on Ziva. "Agent David—you're staying with me."

"Why? I have not done anything wrong," Ziva argued.

"You defied a direct order from Homeland Security," Gibbs countered. "You're lucky you still have a job."

"I was tracking a terrorist!"

"Let's go."

Tony, McGee, and Leah watched as Ziva stalked out of the bullpen with Gibbs. Leah wasn't sure this was the best idea—she wanted someone outside of NCIS to keep an eye on Ziva, but Gibbs had convinced her that Ziva would listen to him. Still, it had not stopped her from letting Morrow know… _he said he'd keep an eye on it._

McGee let out a slow, steady breath. "Well, that could have gone a lot worse," he said, breaking the tense silence. "I mean… she could have killed one us… especially you Tony with that who she slept with comment."

He scowled. Tony knew he had let his temper get the best of him, but Ziva had a lot of nerve criticizing who he slept with when she, herself, didn't have the best track record. "Yeah, well, I'm tired of her snarky comments under her breath—tired of her looking down on me like I'm some kind of misogynist pig."

"Don't you think you brought on some of that yourself?" McGee questioned. "I mean… with all your stories and crap."

"I'm heading home," Tony announced. "Night, Probie, Miss Dawson. See you in the morning."

"Agent DiNozzo, wait!" Leah called, grabbing her stuff and sprinting after him. She followed him into the elevator cab. "I'm sorry."

Tony looked at her a bit perplexed. "Sorry?"

Leah took a deep breath. "Yes. I should not have doubted you—I… I'm sure you are more than capable to do the job in Italy."

He jabbed his fingere against the button for the garage. "Yeah, just hope you're up to listening to me. If a situation is too dangerous, you need to pull out—got it?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat, certain that she did not have any other choice, she whispered, "Got it."

"Good," Tony said as the elevator door opened. He stepped out. "See you in the morning."

* * *

Morning came _much_ too soon.

Leah didn't even bother to dry her hair; by the time she made it to NCIS it had dried in soft waves. Her attire was a simple, baby pink top and light wash jeans—there had been no time to put together a more fashionable outfit for the day—and the truth was, she didn't really care.

Tony glanced up at her when she arrived in the bullpen, mumbling a half-assed good morning. Despite the late night, she noticed that he looked fresh and clean, dressed in a sharp suit like usual. She didn't have the energy to ponder how he managed to look so good on such little sleep.

"Brought you some coffee," the senior field agent said. "Looks like you're going to need it."

"What are you implying?" she shot back, "Do I look like trash because we were here until after midnight?"

"Actually," Tony said, standing up and moving towards her desk. "I was going to say that you look pretty good for someone who is obviously tired."

Leah sat down and stared at the cardboard coffee cup on her desk. "I'll sleep better once this case is closed."

Tony gazed at her, green eyes softening. "Leah, you're not going to find him if you don't get enough sleep."

She reached for her coffee and scoffed. "Are you my nanny now? Telling me when I should go to bed?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "No. I'm just concerned. You know, I've talked to your team. They say this is what you do—you over work yourself, burn yourself out."

"You talked to my team?"

"I had to know who I was working with. A personnel file doesn't tell me a lot about _how_ you operate."

Leah glared at him. "Well, now you know."

Tony moved closer. "We need to leave in thirty minutes for our flight—promise me you'll sleep on the plane."

She took a sip of her coffee and gestured at the duffel bag near her feet. "I'm ready to go. And if it will get you to leave me alone for the next thirty minutes—yes, I'll sleep on the plane."

He didn't believe her, he could just imagine her on the plane with her laptop open, working hard instead of getting her much needed sleep. He was guilty of this practice as well, he was one to talk… "Alright, I'll leave you alone."

"Thank you," Leah said as he walked back to his desk. She noticed that his eyes, they never left her.

"You never said I had to stop watching you," Tony murmured with a grin when he saw her glare at him.

"I don't know why the two of you are still here," Gibbs snapped, suddenly appearing.

"Flight doesn't leave for another three hours," Tony responded, watching as Gibbs grabbed his gear. "Got a case, boss?"

Gibbs nodded. "Yep."

Tony frowned. "Need me to do anything before I leave?"

"No," Gibbs replied, looking at his senior agent. "You have another job to do. We can handle this."

"Ziva?" Tony questioned. She had continued her loud protests that morning before Leah arrived.

"Vance ordered her to stand down," Gibbs said. "She's with McGee right now, heading to the crime scene."

"She's not going down without a fight."

"I know, DiNozzo. You worry about keeping Dawson alive in Italy, I'll worry about Ziva."

Tony glanced at Leah, and gave his boss a curt nod. He had done everything he could to make sure his partner was safe, if she didn't want to take his advice or heed the warnings that she had been given by Homeland, Leah, and himself—well that was no longer his problem.

Right now, his problem was traveling to Italy to track down a man that had eluded the law for the last few months and protecting an upstart, NSA analyst from falling victim to Ilan Bodnar's murderous tendencies.

* * *

"Do you have somewhere to be?" McGee asked a fidgety Ziva on their way back to NCIS. "You keep looking at your watch."

"Tony and Leah will be in the air soon," Ziva said with contempt. "I should be going _not_ her. She doesn't know how to find Bodnar—I do!"

McGee sighed and eased the truck onto the highway. He had been listening to his partner vent and rant about Tony and Leah's trip to Italy all morning, except when Gibbs was around at the crime scene. At least she managed to let it go for a few hours while they did their job. "You're not on this case because one of the victims was your father."

Ziva curled her lip. "No one knows Mossad better than I do. There should be an exception to the rules. My father might not have been a good man, but Jackie was a good woman, and she deserves justice."

"And she'll get it, once Leah Dawson's team track Bodnar," McGee said. "Ziva, these things don't happen overnight. They take time. You work in law enforcement, you know how long some cases can take—months, years." He saw her jaw twitch. "Unless, justice is just lip service and you really want revenge."

"Wouldn't you? What if it had been your father?" Ziva huffed, turning to face him. "What if your father had been murdered in cold blood?"

McGee tensed. "I would do what Homeland Security instructed me to do, Ziva." _And I'd probably have to make sure Sarah didn't go after the killer…_

Ziva angrily threw her cap into the back of the truck. "Homeland is making a huge mistake. Leah is inexperienced in the field and Tony is more interested in having sex with her than actually doing his job!"

He frowned. McGee knew that this had something to do with the fact that Ziva was jealous. He'd been dealing with his partners' jealousy for years. It was getting tiresome… "Well, it's not like he'd be breaking any rules if he did sleep with her, and, come on, we both know that Tony is all talk—he'll remain professional on that trip."

She ground her jaw. "I am sorry if I do not share that sentiment. He had an entire assignment where he was _ordered_ to sleep with a woman."

Fortunately, he was saved from further discussion on the matter when his phone rang. McGee dug it out of his pocket and answered. "Tim McGee."

" _Hey,_ " a female's voice said on the other line. " _It's Delilah. I found that file you were looking for on Illan Bodnar. Wanna meet for lunch?"_


	7. Chapter 7

**Warnings:** Same as usual.

 **A/N:** Sorry for the delay. This is just a filler chapter, I promise more action is coming. Enjoy!

* * *

Tony reached over and attempted to shut her laptop down. "You promised me you would sleep on the flight."

Leah slapped his hand away. "I crossed my fingers under the desk."

"Cheater."

"I prefer to say clever."

"We talked about this—you won't catch Bodnar sleep deprived," Tony said, seriously.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not working on the Bodnar case," Leah replied, tossing him a soft smile.

He was intrigued. What over case was taking precedent over the Bodnar case? Tony tried to sneak a peek at her screen but she pulled the computer back. "Let me guess, it's classified."

She gave him a sweet, coy smile, that she had no idea made his knees slightly weak. Leah quickly saved what she was working on, and closed the laptop. "Yes. It's NSA business, you should know that it's classified."

Tony studied her face for a second. He had never noticed how blue her eyes were until that moment. "Anyone ever tell you that you have the most beautiful blue eyes?"

Leah chuckled. She put her laptop back into its bag, tucking her long hair behind her ears. "I would have thought you'd have better pick-up lines than that."

"I do, but that wasn't a pick-up line," Tony said. "It was honesty. Your eyes are beautiful."

"Is the cabin pressure getting to you?" Leah asked, cheekily.

He shook his head. "No. Has no one honestly told you that you're beautiful? Because I find that hard to believe. Any guy with half decent eye sight, in a bar on a Friday night, would be saying that to you."

She blushed, slightly, and looked away, out the tiny window of the airplane. When she looked back at him, her smile had turned sad. "It's been awhile since I went out to any bar looking for a date… so, no… no one has honestly told me that I'm beautiful in a long time."

Tony pursed his lips, sensing a story behind her words. "That's a shame. Whoever let you go was an idiot."

Leah tensed. "What makes you think there was a guy?"

"Reluctance to go to bars, no one has bothered to tell you that you're beautiful… obviously, some guy broke your heart."

"That doesn't mean someone broke my heart."

"No? Then why are you not dating?"

"Fine… you're right… I had…I had my heart broken…and I just… dating doesn't seem worth it anymore to me."

He couldn't explain it, but he wanted to hurt the man that had hurt her. Tony had once been that guy that hurt women; _you haven't been that guy in a while…_ "Well, he was stupid," he said, with a faint smile. "You would have to be if you'd let a girl as attractive and smart go as you…"

She blushed, again, and tucked her chin against her chest. "What about you? Do you have _the one that got away?_ From the way Tim talks, you're womanizing is all for show."

Tony pictured Jeanne clearly. He sighed, heavily. "Yeah…I have one that got away."

Leah was sure she was getting a tiny peek at the real Tony DiNozzo, the man that he so carefully hid away from the world. She smiled, softly. "Maybe we'll find you a nice Italian girl while we're in Rome."

"Between catching an internationally wanted man?"

"Sure. It wouldn't hurt us to have a little bit of fun in Europe."

"You mean, you're not all work and no play?"

"It's something I'm working on."

He sat back in his seat, contemplating this complex woman sitting with him and he felt his attraction towards her grow. Tony knew he had to go against all his instincts and fight it—after all, rule 12 was not there for show—but being alone with her, in Europe, for God only knew how long—it was going to be difficult. "Is that why the idiot left you and broke your heart?"

She blinked, nervously, and shook her head. "No. My job had nothing to do with why we broke up… you know what, I really don't want to talk about this right now. Can we change the subject please?"

Tony gently nodded his head, deciding that the coach cabin of an airplane was probably not the best place to be having this conversation—already the nosy old lady sitting across the aisle from him was glaring at them. "Okay, well, since we're going to Italy—what's your favorite Italian cuisine?"

Leah smiled, broadly. "Are you offering to cook a meal for me, Agent DiNozzo?"

"You can laugh all you want—I'm a pretty good cook."

"Maybe I'll ask you to test your skills on me in the future."

"Really? I got other skills I can test out on you…"

"Funny. I'm going to use the restroom."

He grinned as she unbuckled her belt and stood up. Tony knew he couldn't act on his attraction towards her but he sure as hell could still flirt with her and just as this thought crossed his mind, the plane shook violent with turbulence, sending Leah off balance and right into his lap. "If you had wanted to get this close to me… all you had to do was ask."

Instant heat went to her cheeks, she struggled to get up out of his lap thanks to the turbulence shaking the cabin, and Leah felt her heart racing. Yes, yes, she wanted to be _that_ close to him, but it would entirely inappropriate to ask him—wouldn't it?

Tony ran his tongue over his lips, very much aware how long it was taking her to get up out of his lap. "Leah?"

Leah swallowed, nervously and glanced at him. "Yeah?"

"I thought you had to use the restroom?"

"Oh… right… that's… that's where I…I was going."

He chuckled as he helped her up, leaned over the seat to watch as she precariously made her to the back of the plane. As he shifted back into his seat, he caught the nosy old lady glaring and shaking her head at him. Tony smiled to himself and reached into his carry on for a magazine.

There was no rule against harmless flirting. Besides, once this case was closed and Bodnar was arrested, Leah would be heading back to the NSA… Tony smiled even more at the possibilities.

Leah didn't seem interested in any kind of relationship, but Tony knew she reciprocated his attraction. He could be persuasive, maybe it was time that they both gave relationships a chance…

She returned to her seat without any problems, she timidly glanced at him before reaching into her own bag for a book and gave him a shy smile.

 _Yeah,_ Tony thought, _the possibilities are endless._

* * *

Tim cautiously entered _D.C Beans._ Glancing across the room he spotted Delilah Fielding sitting in the same spot that he had met her two months ago. Quickly making sure that he had not been followed, Tim moved through the crowd towards—well—she wasn't his girlfriend. He was sure they were just fooling around to get information out of each other. _Tony would be proud._

Delilah smiled at him and waved him over. She had his favorite kind of coffee waiting, along with a sandwich. "I figured you'd be hungry."

"Yeah, thanks," Tim said, sitting down. "You said you had information for me?"

"Indeed," Delilah replied. "D.O.D has been tracking a terrorist in the Middle East, recently we came across some communications between him and Ilan Bodnar—right around the time that Eli David was killed."

Tim looked down at the folder that Delilah had slid across the table to him. "Does Leah Dawson know this information?"

Delilah shook her head. "Not yet. She left the country before I could pass it on to her. I figured she'd be talking to you before me, since she's liaising with NCIS on this case."

"She's due to check in once they land in Rome," Tim replied.

"Rome, huh? Charm, romantic… magical…"

"What are you getting at, Delilah?"

Delilah leaned forward, a large grin spreading across her face. "We don't know how long Tony and Leah are going to be over there—alone—anything could happen."

Tim frowned. He had to deal with Ziva's jealousy, he didn't think he would have to deal with the woman he was sort of dating speculating on what was going on between his partner and the NSA analyst— _I wish I had never told her about Tony, Leah, and Ziva, and the impending love triangle_. "Leah is a professional. I doubt anything is going to happen."

She continued to smile. "You said Leah was a professional… what about Tony?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes, I don't know what to think when it comes to Tony."

"Would you feel better if I told you that Leah is perfect for him?"

"How… how would you know that?"

"Well…why wouldn't she be? They have a lot in common."

Tim quirked an eyebrow, and asked, again, "How would you know that?"

Delilah grinned. "I've worked many, many hours with Leah. And I do listen when you talk about Tony."

Fortunately, he was saved by the ringing of his phone. Tim pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. "That's Ziva. I have to go." He quickly stood up, grabbed the information she had given him and turned to go. "Thanks for this."

She cleared her throat as he started to walk away. "Am I going to see you later tonight? You know, to get my proper _thank you."_

He blushed. "Yeah... I'll see you tonight."

* * *

After their long flight, a hot shower felt wonderful. Tony ran a towel over his hair and stepped out into the hotel room. The sun was just starting to rise here in Italy, and was peeking through the heavy drapes. "Did you get in touch with your contacts?"

Leah looked up from her spot on the full-sized bed. "Yes. We're going to meet him downstairs in the lobby in two hours. I figured that would be enough time for us to maybe catch a nap."

Tony smiled, innocently at her. "A nap? Do you mean… together, Miss Dawson?"

"I'm too tired for your games, Agent DiNozzo."

"Who says I was playing a game?"

She took a deep breath and rolled off the bed. Leah grabbed a pillow and gestured towards the small sofa in their room. "I can sleep on the couch."

He glanced over his shoulder at it before looking back her with the same innocent smile on his face. "We're both adults, I think we can _share_ the bed."

Leah silently went to the small couch and laid down.

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, have it your way—if you change your mind let me know."

"I won't."

"Wow… way to bruise a man's ego… at least wait a minute before denying me."

She didn't respond. Tony turned around and saw that she had fallen fast asleep on the sofa. He grabbed a throw blanket and gently laid it over her. Glancing at the clock on the night stand, he decided that it was probably a good idea to catch some sleep when he could. Who knew how long their day was going to be once they met with Leah's contacts. He needed to be ready for anything.


	8. Chapter 8

**Warnings:** Same as usual.

 **A/N:** Sorry for the delay. Enjoy!

* * *

Tony was acutely aware that _someone_ was watching Leah while she met with her contact in the hotel lobby. _I knew meeting out in the open like this was a bad idea,_ he thought as he walked the perimeter of the room one more time.

Leah shot him a glare from across the room. She obviously didn't think there was any danger and thought that he was overacting. He was definitely making her contact a little bit nervous. _Oh well,_ he thought, _I'm not here to make him feel better—I'm here to keep Leah out of harm's way._

He glanced at his watch. She had been speaking to the contact for nearly fifteen minutes. Across the room he caught sight of a young, good looking man, sitting at the bar, watching Leah. _Bingo._

Disappearing into the crowd, Tony moved towards the stranger who was very intently keeping tabs on his charge. Sauntering up to the bar, Tony ordered a drink. "Nice view, huh?"

"True. But she seems to have eyes for someone else," the man said in a smooth British accent. He turned to smile at Tony. "You're not the only one in this building that has a keen sense of observation."

"Is there a particular reason you're interested in observing her?" Tony asked, leaning against the bar while waiting for his drink.

"Are you her boyfriend or something?"

"I'm assigned to protect her—at all costs."

The man laughed. "Don't worry, mate. I'm not here to kill her."

Tony pursed his lips. "Then _what_ are you here for?"

"Same thing you are. Ilan Bodnar."

"How do you know about Bodnar?"

"Clayton Reeves, MI-6."

 _Ah. A spy._ Tony took a deep breath. Leah had mentioned that she was in contact with MI-6. He had just been under the impression that the man she was currently speaking with was a British agent. Tony felt his senses suddenly heightened, he saw Leah's contact reach into his pocket for something even before Reeves did.

Tony left his drink behind, pushing his way through the crowd and grabbing the anxious contact's arm furiously. "Drop the needle!" he snapped, giving the suspect a little shake before he did so. Tony dug his cuffs out and cuffed the guy to his chair before he leaned down and picked the syringe up.

Leah looked baffled and a little bit terrified. "What is that?" she asked, anxiously.

"My guess," Tony said, carefully holding the syringe between his fingers, "it's poison."

"I don't understand," Leah said. "He's providing me with information, why would he want to kill me?"

"Because, he's not really your contact," Tony replied, glaring at the suspect, "Isn't that right, buddy?"

"I'm not saying anything until I speak to a lawyer," the suspect snapped.

Tony shrugged. "Fine. I'll ship you to the Italian authorities and let them deal with you. I got enough problems, pal."

The other man scowled. "Hey, a bloke has to make a living, ya know?"

"Yeah, yeah, tell it to the judge," Tony hissed, pulling out his phone. "Meanwhile, Italy can deal with you."

Leah finally found her voice. "Wait, you're my contact and you wanted to kill me?"

The suspect rolled his eyes. "I'm not your contact, honey. I lied. You analysts are far too trusting; do you know that? If it weren't for your bodyguard here, you'd be dead."

She managed to give him a glare, even though she was clearly shaken. "He's not my bodyguard. We're working together to bring Bodnar—your boss—in."

He snickered. "Bodnar doesn't want you dead. You're the only one that can clear him."

Italian authorities arrived before she could respond that and Leah watched as the would-be assassin was led away. If Bodnar had not hired the hitman, who did? _This_ was the only case she was working. She had been ordered to hand over everything else to solely focus on finding Bodnar…

Tony suddenly reached out and touched her shoulder, startling her. "Leah? Did you hear me?" he asked, slightly concerned that she had mentally wandered off for a moment. "This _gentleman_ here seems to think he has the information you're looking for."

"You do?" Leah asked, looking at the smiling, suave man standing near them. "Clayton."

"Hello, love," Reeves said, grinning. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," she snapped. "Don't call me _love._ "

"Still sassy as always. I missed you," Reeves replied.

"Wait," Tony said, "you two know each other?"

Leah reluctantly nodded. "Yeah… we worked on something… a year or so back…"

Reeves chuckled. "Bloody hell, Leah, I thought I meant more to you than just a contact."

Tony bristled with obvious jealousy, just as his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket to answer, "DiNozzo."

" _Gibbs wants an update,"_ Ziva said without even uttering _hello._

"Ok, then have Gibbs call me," Tony retorted, noticing that he now had Leah's attention. "You know you're not allowed access to this case. You're lucky that you're still allowed to be at your desk right now."

Ziva audibly snarled. " _She is never going to be able to track Ilan."_

Tony clenched his jaw. "We'll see about that," he said before hanging up. _I'm gonna pay for that later._

Leah gazed at him, heatedly, but before she could say a word, he had grabbed her arm and was directing her back to their hotel room. "Wait a minute, we haven't finished for the day!"

"We're done," Tony snapped. "Someone tried to kill you—that means locking down in our room until further notice."

"What about Bodnar?" Leah retorted. "We were sent here to catch him."

"No, _you_ were sent here to catch him; _I_ was sent to protect _you._ "

"But…"

Tony straightened his shoulders, did his best impression of a Gibbs' glare, and saw her slightly cower. "Some guy just tried to shove a needle in your arm—we're going back to our hotel room so I can update NCIS and we can go from there. I thought we had an agreement that you would listen to me?"

Leah opened her mouth and quickly shut it. Yes, she had agreed to listen to him and damnit she hated that he remembered that little agreement. "Fine."

Reeves suddenly cleared his throat, alerting the others that he had followed them. "I hate to interrupt this little lover's spat…but I need to check in with MI-6. Let me know when I can speak to you, Leah, without your guard dog here."

"He isn't my guard dog!" Leah snapped as Reeves walked away.

"Let's go," Tony said, pulling her into the elevator.

Jamming his finger onto the button, he shut the doors and then pressed the button for their floor. Leah could see how tense he was through his body language, but she was sure if he was angry at her or at their… problem.

Tony ran his tongue over his lips. "Did you sleep with Reeves? Was he the one that broke your heart?"

Leah wasn't expecting that of all questions. "What? No! Clayton is a spy, never around, just ask his estranged wife. And what do you care? Are you jealous or something?"

"Do you want me to be, jealous, that is?"

"What the hell does that mean?"

He took a step towards her, green eyes piercing. "You seem to like to play sexual politics with your colleagues."

She clenched her fists. "Excuse me? I like to play sexual politics….what about you?"

Tony grasped her waist, pulled her towards him, roughly, and kissed her.

Leah didn't react at first and then she melted against him, returning the kiss. They were only stopped by the elevator arriving at their floor and the ding of the bell startled them back to reality.

"We… we should…we should stop," she whispered.

"Yeah…" he said, softly, not sounding very convincing.

Swallowing, Leah stepped out of the elevator and turned towards their room. Hundreds of thoughts were running through her brain and she couldn't sort any of them out. _It was an angry kiss, he was trying to prove a point—it meant nothing._

 _But you want it to mean something,_ she argued with herself as she shoved the hotel key into the turn and turned the handle. She pushed the door opened and stepped inside, vaguely aware that Tony was right behind her. His fingers brushed against hers, grabbing her hand as the door slammed shut behind him.

Tony took a deep breath. "Leah… I don't want to stop."

Leah turned halfway and looked at him in the dim sunlight filtering into their room. "What do you mean?" she asked, quietly.

"I mean… I want more than a kiss from you, I want more than the _sexual_ politics between us," he responded.

"But," she said, sensing there was more.

"Rule 12."

"Another one of Gibbs' rules that I should learn?"

"One that can be broken once we catch Bodnar and you go back to the NSA."

"More incentive to catch him."

Tony pulled her closer one more time, _just one more kiss…_

Leah startled when his cell rang.

He glanced at the screen and grumbled. It was Ziva. Again. "I should probably get this."

She nodded. "That's fine. I'm going too… I'm going to go take a shower."

Sighing, Tony went out on to the balcony to answer his phone, and Leah, went to take a shower—their kiss all but forgotten.

* * *

"The would-be assassin isn't talking much," Tim reported to Gibbs. "I just got off the phone with Tony. The only thing the guy would tell him is that it wasn't Bodnar that hired him."

"If it wasn't Bodnar then who the hell hired him to take out an NSA analyst," Gibbs snapped. From the moment Tony had informed him that someone had attempted to kill Leah Dawson his gut was churning. "Do you know what she was working on before Bodnar?"

Tim shook his head. "NSA says it's classified."

Gibbs grumbled. "Even though one of their own was almost murdered."

"Apparently, they trust NCIS to keep Leah safe."

"We'll see if they'll be saying that if she's dead."

Tim glanced over his shoulder, to make sure that they were still alone. "Tony also said that Ziva will not stop calling him for updates, claiming that you told her to call."

Gibbs frowned even more. He had told Ziva to back off for her own good, but once she got something in her head, well, it was hard to clear her mind of it. "Next time you talk to him, tell him I'll handle it."

* * *

Tony found Leah sitting out on the balcony. "Hey. You shouldn't be out here…alone."

Leah glanced up at him and watched as he sat down with her. "I needed a quiet place to think."

He reached out and pushed her hair, gently, off her shoulder. "I spoke to NCIS, they're investigating into who hired the hitman; if what he says was true about Bodnar."

She meekly nodded her head. "If there's one, there's more of them," she mumbled, staring off into the distance at the night skyline of Rome. "He wasn't the only hired to take me out."

"Well, that's why I'm here," Tony assured her. "To make sure none of them get the job done."

"Even if that means losing your own life?" Leah asked.

Tony played with her hair, absentmindedly. "Part of the job."

Leah looked away. "It's a crappy part of the job."

"Better me than some agent who has a family at home," Tony mused.

"You shouldn't value your life any less than a married agent," Leah argued.

"Honestly, I don't have anything to live for."

"What? That can't be true…"

Tony didn't answer, instead he simply shrugged his shoulders. There was no need to get into the complicated history of his life with her. "Devoted my whole life to the job; when you do that… that's all you have."

Leah swallowed the lump in her throat. They were more alike than she ever believed. "Have you ever wanted more?"

He smiled at her, sadly. "Yes. Haven't you?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"We should probably get some sleep," Tony finally said after several second of silence. "Did you ever call Reeves back?"

"Yes, while you were at the police station," Leah admitted. "He told me to follow the diamonds."

Diamonds? Tony was going to have to get Tim on that; in the meantime, he wasn't joking about needing sleep. He stood up and held his hand out to her, helping her to feet.

Leah tucked her chin against her chest, and gripped his hand. "Are we ever going to talk about what happened between us in the elevator?"

Tony took a deep breath. _Yes. Eventually. Not today._ "Let's put Bodnar away first; then we'll talk." Until then, it was better for the two of them to just ignore what was happening between them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Warnings:** Same as usual.

 **A/N:** Happy weekend everyone! Thank for you all your kind words throughout this whole story, keeps me motivated to keep on writing. I hope you enjoy this update! Please, let me know what you think. :)

* * *

Several weeks later, Leah woke up in Berlin, Germany.

Tony was sitting at the small table in their room, looking out over the city, a cup of coffee in front of him. She wasn't sure the last time he got a full night's sleep, probably Rome; they had been to Milan, Vienna, and Frankfurt since then, and now Berlin. They still didn't know who had hired the hitman back in Italy and even though there had not been another attempt on her life—Tony was still on edge.

Leah sighed and rolled out of bed. She went to the coffee pot to pour herself her own cup of coffee. They hadn't spoken about their heated kiss in Rome—and she didn't expect them too until they were back in Washington. However, fighting their attraction for one another was getting harder and harder the longer they were in Europe.

"'Morning," Tony mumbled when she sat down. "Sleep okay?"

"Fine," Leah said. "Did you?"

He didn't reply; she knew the answer—he hadn't slept. "Spoke to Tim," Tony said, changing the subject. "Mossad showed up at NCIS yesterday, apparently offering to help. Those diamonds that Reeves told us to follow—Mossad thinks they know when and where Bodnar is going to make the drop."

She sipped her coffee, clutching tightly to the mug. "Please tell me they think it's going to happen here in Berlin." _I don't think I can take much more traveling between countries._

"Ziva set up a meeting with an old friend of hers that's been following Bodnar since Eli's death," Tony informed her.

"She isn't supposed to have any access to this case," Leah snapped, reminding him.

"Listen, we can't entirely trust Mossad," Tony replied, angrily. "We needed to make sure the contact was legit."

"If we compromise this case by involving her, there's a good chance charges against Bodnar won't stick," Leah argued.

"Hey, I didn't like involving her," Tony argued back, "but if we didn't—we could be living out here in Europe permenantly."

Leah diverted her eyes. "That wouldn't be such a bad thing," she mumbled.

Tony felt his heart slam against his ribcage. _Fight it,_ he told himself. _Fight it or this entire mission is going to become messy. "_ She set up a meeting with him, at lunch, some little café nearby. Maybe, since you'd like to live here, we can do a little sight-seeing to measure if it's up to par with your tastes."

She glanced up at him, tepidly. "I've been to Germany; my grandparents fled Germany in the thirties. My mother thought it was important that we learn the history; she brought us here when we were kids."

He breathed deeply, feeling a sickening twist to his stomach. "They were Jewish?"

"No," she said, shaking her head sadly. "They were considered enemies of the state because they spoke out against the Nazis. They would have stayed, but… my grandmother found out she was pregnant and my grandfather thought it best to flee. It was a good thing they did too, he found out after the war that their friends had all been arrested and sent to concentration camps where they were executed."

"So," he said, softly, "your family has always had some kind of hand in politics, dating back to the 1930s'. That's quite a legacy you have there Miss Dawson."

"I don't think my grandparents had much of a choice."

"No, but you did. Why chose the life of an NSA analyst?"

Leah gazed into her coffee mug, drowning images from her past in the hot liquid. "Long story, one that I'm not fond of telling; why did you chose to become a cop?"

Tony smiled, sadly. "I was on the fast track to a career in football—until I blew my knee out against Michigan. After that, I struggled in sports; my knee kept me down. One night, ended up saving this kid from a house fire—and then it hit me, what I had just done had mattered. Everything from there just…kind of…fell into place. I found something else, besides sports, that I was good at."

She put her mug down onto the table. "Tony, what if we don't catch Bodnar? We've been over here for almost a month."

He sighed, heavily. "We're going to get him."

"Is that what you told Ziva when you talked to her this morning?"

"What? How do you know about that?"

"You're not very quiet or subtle when you're speaking to her on the phone."

Tony clenched his jaw. "Yeah, well, she's a very direct person and needs to be spoken to directly."

Leah didn't doubt that. "What did she tell you about our contact?" she asked, changing the subject.

He set his own mug down. "She worked with him in the past; he's a friend and she trusts him."

She nodded. "Can we trust him?"

"It's Mossad."

"So… no?"

"Probably not. He's our best bet right now."

Leah sighed. _Follow the diamonds. Follow the diamonds._ So far, they hadn't found a single diamond. She wasn't even sure they existed. "In your little chat with your partner, did she mention diamonds?"

Tony glanced at her thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure you told me _not_ to involve her, so I didn't ask. I did have Tim look into it, and he found something rather interesting. Bodnar _does_ have a substantial diamond fortune—but he was cut off from it once he was ousted from Mossad. We think someone else took the diamonds and they're the ones trying to get them to Bodnar."

"Is that why the meeting was set up with Mossad?" she asked.

"Yes, they're the ones that are going to know where those diamonds are and who has them," he answered.

"Well if they knew that, why haven't they caught him yet?"

"Beats me."

She watched as he stood up and smiled at her. "You seem awfully confident," Leah pointed out.

He grinned and shrugged. "I have a very good feeling about today."

* * *

Tim looked up from his computer and around the empty bullpen. Vance had assigned some mundane task to Ziva to keep her out of their case and Gibbs—well, he wasn't sure where Gibbs had gone. More coffee maybe?

In the three weeks that Tony and Leah had been gone, Tim had spent more time alone, with Gibbs, then he could ever remember. The pair would stay here late at night after Ziva had gone home to try and find information for Tony and Leah in Europe. So far, Leah's contacts were giving them bread crumbs but not the whole loaf of bread and it was beginning to feel like the team was running around in circles in Europe.

Tony had been the one to suggest working with Mossad when Tim had told him that Mossad had shown up at NCIS offering to help, as long as they helped them solve the murder of one of their own on American soil. He hated the idea but they would know the guy best and Tim got the impression that Tony was a little _uncomfortable_ about being in Europe alone with Leah. _Delilah was spot on, apparently._

"McGee," Gibbs said, starting him as he returned to the bullpen. "Can you give me any information on that dead Mossad officer?"

"Do you think he's linked to our case?" Tim asked, pulling up the information that the new director of Mossad had brought them.

"I think Elbaz isn't telling me the truth," Gibbs replied. "I want to make sure that Tony and Leah are safe. We've already had one assassination attempt on her, let's not have anymore."

Tim swallowed the lump in his throat. They still had not been able to determine who had hired the hitman to take out Leah. There was no ties to Bodnar between the two men, there were no ties to anyone with the hitman. "Tony reported that there hasn't been any more trouble."

Gibbs glared slightly at the junior agent. "That doesn't mean there won't be another attempt. Tony knows that, he's just letting you know it's been quiet, not that he thinks the threat is over."

"Why would Bodnar want Leah dead?"

"Hitman says he didn't; Bodnar thinks she's the only one that can clear him."

"So," Tim said, thoughtfully, "maybe that means that the person who really killed Eli David wants her dead."

"What was she working on before being assigned to this case?" Gibbs questioned.

"I don't know, NSA is being stingy; claim it's highly classified."

"Well, what can your girlfriend over at the DOD tell us?"

Tim looked surprised. How did Gibbs know about that? _It's Gibbs, Probie,_ he heard Tony's voice in his head, _he knows everything._ "Um… they've worked together before in the past. She wouldn't tell me on what."

Gibbs cracked a grin, grabbed his coffee and started to walk away. "Well," he said, "perhaps you should use your powers of persuasion on her." In a flash he was gone from the bullpen, leaving a bewildered Tim behind.

* * *

Sitting at street side café, Leah felt Tony's hand gently graze her knee and she felt a chill run up her spine in the middle of a warm day. They were waiting for the contact from Mossad and trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

Leah wasn't sure how she felt about Tony's idea of sitting here, acting like a couple on a romantic getaway, but she figured he was the federal agent—he had been on more undercover missions than she had, and if an associate for Bodnar was around, they wanted to maintain some form of cover.

Tony leaned in now, brushing his lips across her temple. "Try to relax," he whispered in her ear. "Or you're going to give us away."

"I _am_ relaxed," Leah argued, turning her head slightly only find his mouth dangerously close to hers. _Well, I'm not relaxed anymore._

"Sure about that?" Tony asked, grinning, before he kissed her.

It was like everything in her brain faded away. She completely forgot what they were doing here, other than the fact that he was kissing her and she was rather enjoying it—and returning it. Briefly she thought about how inappropriate ethis probably was, how unprofessional… _and you don't care…_ then, a male cleared his throat and they broke apart.

Standing near their table was a young, handsome, middle eastern man, smiling. "Sorry. Am I… interrupting? Ziva did not tell me that you two were… involved."

Tony smirked at the new comer. "We're not involved. Just trying to maintain a cover."

"Well, then your cover was pretty damn convincing," the Mossad officer said.

"Are you going to join us?" Leah asked, suddenly, wanting to change the subject.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Wouldn't that be ruining your cover?"

She faked a smile, stood up and gave him a tight hug. "No."

Tony bristled, slightly with jealousy, but took her lead; he stood up and shook the Mossad officer's hand with a smile. Outwardly, they look liked old friends meeting. "Have a seat. Maybe you can start with an introduction."

"My name is Adam Eschel," the man said, "and I am going to help you find Ilan Bodnar and bring him to justice."


	10. Chapter 10

**Warnings:** Spoilers for S10

 **A/N:** Another short chapter, but I figure shorter chapters coming at a regular pace as opposed to long waits for longer chapters are better... right? LOL Anyways, I hope you enjoy. We're just getting started here dear readers :)

* * *

"Our intel has the drop happening tonight," Eschel told them, "at a near-by nightclub."

"And this person, they have the diamonds?" Leah asked, hearing her phone beep in her pocket.

Eschel nodded. "Yes. Mossad has been tracking the diamonds for months. We are certain this is where Ilan is going to try and collect them. He has had several communications with a man here in Berlin."

Leah slid her phone out of her pocket and noticed that she was receiving a video call. Confused, she showed the number to Tony and Adam. "Should I answer?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah," he said, gesturing for Eschel to move out of view. "Answer it." He had a feeling he knew who was calling her; his gut was screaming…

She held her phone up and accepted the call. Immediately, her blue eyes went wide. Leah wasn't sure how he had retrieved her phone number or why he was even calling her…

"Hello, Leah," Ilan Bodnar said, startling both Tony and Adam, "Can we talk?"

"I have nothing to say to you," Leah snapped. "You tried to kill me."

"I know that it is popular belief that I ordered that hit on you, but I did not," Bodnar replied. "I gain nothing from you being dead. There are others out there, Leah, that you know want you gone—you're not telling NCIS the truth."

Leah saw Tony glare at her and she adverted her eyes. "Why did you call me, Ilan? You know that I'm searching for you and that this call could very well be traced."

Ilan smiled, whimsically. "I know; I have scrambled the signal. It will take the tech geeks over at NCIS a while to locate me, and by then, we will have finished our chat. I called, because, I wish to speak with you—without NCIS or Mossad listening in. I want to prove to you that I was not the one that killed Eli David and Jackie Vance."

"Are you admitting to killing Kasmi?" Leah asked.

"We both know _who_ ordered that hit," Bodnar replied. "I was setup to take the fall."

"Evidence suggests…"

"Leah, Leah, Leah, always looking for the straight line, the clear path; this is not so clear cut."

She could see Tony take out his cell, probably calling Tim to attempt to track Bodnar. Leah knew she had to keep Bodnar talking for that to happen. "Then help me understand that path, Ilan. What path should I really be following?"

He chuckled. "Do you think I am going to make it easier for you to find and arrest me? No. When you find out that it was not me that killed Eli, then we can chat again, until that moment I am not going to give you information that you could use against me."

Before Leah could say anything else, he had disappeared from her screen. She glanced at Tony and Adam hopefully; all the NCIS agent did was shake his head and she knew—they hadn't been able to track the call or Bodnar.

"Perhaps," Adam said breaking the tense silence. "We should all get some rest before tonight?"

"Yeah," Tony replied, gesturing for Leah to stand up. He took her by the arm. "Meet in our lobby in two hours; we can go over the fine details until then. I'll have my tech geek at NCIS keep working on tracking that call. We're gonna get him—tonight."

* * *

Tony angrily slammed the door to their hotel room shut. "When were you going to tell me that there could be someone else out to get you? When you were dead?" he shouted.

Leah took a step backyards, suddenly afraid of him. "I didn't think…"

"Exactly, you didn't think," Tony snarled, stepping towards her. "My job is to protect you _at all costs;_ keeping something like this from me, that could have resulted in both our deaths, was a stupid idea, Leah."

"But… I haven't worked that case in _months!"_ Leah gasped, "I handed it off to another analyst immediately after I was assigned this case; Morrow's orders!"

He glared at her. "Do you think that matters? No. I need to know who else might want you dead; what were you working on?"

She nervously glanced out the window before looking back at him, timidly. "It's classified."

Tony wasn't holding back, not when both their lives were on the line; he'd worry about hurt feelings later. "Hey, listen, you want to keep it classified, fine, but it isn't going to matter much once you're dead."

Leah swallowed, anxiously while she contemplated what to do next. She could lose her job for sharing classified information with him, but at the same time… she could lose her life… "I've been tracking a terrorist by the name of Benham Parsa for the last three years, that is, until Bodnar assassinated Eli David and Jackie Vance."

"Is it possible he wants you dead?"

"I don't know; I wasn't even close to catching him when they took me off the case."

"Wonderful; I'm going to call Tim…"

"No!"

He clenched his jaw. "No?" Tony repeated, low in his throat. "What do you mean _no_?"

She took a deep breath. "Please, Tony, you cannot tell Tim."

Tony was exasperated. "Then why did you tell me?"

Leah glanced at him with pleading blue eyes. "Because I trust you, Tony."

"It took you long enough," he drawled, sarcastically.

"Do you trust me?" she asked, quietly.

Carefully, Tony thought about his answer. When they had first met, he didn't trust her at all. He was certain she was there to bring his team down, now after spending all this time with her, alone, in Europe—he could see that she was trying to help his team. "Yeah," he said, "I trust you."

Leah's shoulders eased. Clearly, that wasn't the answer she was expecting and she was relieved to get it. "Then please, trust me now and don't call Tim."

He sighed, heavily and narrowed his eyes on her. "Fine, but if there is another attempt—I'm not holding this information back from my team. I'm going to have to call NCIS and let them know, understand?"

She nodded. "Yes. I understand. Thank you."

"Don't thank me just yet," Tony quipped, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "The day isn't over."

"Are you afraid Bodnar is going to try something tonight besides get his diamonds?" Leah asked.

"He knows we're here."

"You heard what he said today—he wants his name cleared, his money, nothing else."

Tony quirked an eyebrow. "You believe that?"

Leah licked her lips. "Yes. What help does killing us provide him in his case?"

He tilted his head to one side. "Leah, don't fall for it. He's trying to muddy that clear path."

She joined him on the bed. "What if he isn't though? What if he is being set up for the fall? Tim mentoned that the new director of Mossad showed up at NCIS right?"

"Yeah. Mossad officer was murdered in D.C," Tony replied. "The team was helping with the case."

"Is it possible… they're connected?" Leah questioned, noticing Tony's green eyes lit up. "Could it be that the officer was murdered for knowing too much? Just like I do…"

Tony pulled his cell phone out again and dialed his partner. "Hey Tim," he said, looking at Leah thoughtfully, "find out if there's been any unusual activity on the Director of Mossad's accounts. Yeah… I have a hunch."

* * *

Tim nervously glanced at Gibbs and cleared his throat. "Boss. I, ah, I did that thing Tony asked me to do."

Gibbs looked up from his work and glared at Tim, then realized why the junior agent was being elusive—Ziva was in the bullpen working on whatever task Vance had given her for the day. "And?"

"And… he was right, on both things," Tim said, curtly.

"Did you put a trace on the phone?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes. If it happens again, I'll know right away."

"Keep me posted. I'm going for coffee."

Tim watched as Gibbs stood up, grabbed his coat, and left. He sighed and went back to work. He'd been tracing that phone call to Leah's cell phone for about two hours now; Tony's hunch was that Bodnar had called her from somewhere in Germany, however, at the time of the original phone call, it was nearly impossible to trace. Tim would be ready next time…

"What was that all about?" Ziva asked, suddenly appearing in front of his desk. "Have Tony and Leah found Bodnar yet?"

"You know I can't talk to you about it," Tim said, frowning. "But, no, they haven't found Bodnar yet."

Ziva scowled. "So, they are going to be in Europe even longer," she stated, bitterly.

Tim wasn't sure what exactly she was bitter at—the fact that she wasn't with Tony, tracking Bodnar, or the fact that she wasn't with Tony to… be with Tony. "Yeah, but Tony feels like they're closing in."

She sighed, heavily and went back to her desk. "If Vance would just let me help, I could easily find him. I know him better than anyone else. The longer it takes to arrest him the less of a chance we have of catching him because he will take those diamonds and disappear."

He wanted to tell her that they knew about a drop that very night, that Tony and Leah were preparing to go undercover—but he couldn't—that would compromise the case. "Well, hopefully we catch him before that happens."

"None of this would have happened if my father had not trusted Ilan. He treated Ilan better than his own children and look how Ilan repaid him," Ziva mumbled.

"They say hindsight is 20/20," Tim mused, briefly glancing away from his screen. "There are a lot of things that none of us saw coming."


	11. Chapter 11

**Warnings:** Same as usual. Slight spoilers for S10.

 **A/N:** I'm back with a new update. Enjoy!

 **Sarah-** _Thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying the stories :)_

* * *

Gibbs opened the door to Leon Vance's office and stepped inside. "We have a problem."

Vance rubbed his temple. "Another one?"

"McGee dug around in Mossad's files," Gibbs said, slamming the door shut. "He found money wired to our hitman in Italy."

"Mossad ordered the hit on Leah Dawson?" Vance repeated, sounding surprised. "Why?"

The former marine scowled. "I don't know. When I questioned Elbaz about it she said that the account the money was wired to was one of Eli David's old ones. She told me she would work with us to find out _who_ sent the money. I have my theories, either Bodnar did it to cover his tracks, Mossad did it because she knows too much, or someone else hacked Mossad to make them look guilty."

The NCIS Director leaned back in his chair and glanced at his senior agent, pensively. "I have another theory; Miss David is the one that ordered the hit. She wasn't particularly happy with Homeland taking her off the case and assigning it to Leah Dawson."

Gibbs shook his head. "Ziva didn't order that hit. However, I think we're all being played—including Leah Dawson. Some agency, somewhere, is trying to cover up a mistake."

Vance took a deep breath. "This is going to be hard to prove; you can't just go throwing out accusations about other foreign agencies or even other agencies in our own country without any proof to back it up."

"Not trying to prove anything, Leon," Gibbs said, sternly. "Once that drop is complete tonight, I want Tony and Leah back in D.C. _before_ something happens to them. Time to pull the plug on this—let someone else deal with Bodnar."

* * *

Tony caught her, smoothing the wrinkles in his suit with her delicate hands. She had been pacing the room for the last hour or so, and for the most part he had ignored her, until he glanced up and saw her standing at the closet. Her hair hung around her face in soft waves, her blue eyes filled with intensity and anxiety; he sighed, softly. "You should rest before tonight."

Leah blinked, bringing herself back to the here and now. He wondered where her mind had taken her. "I don't think I could sleep," she whispered. _If I fail…_

"Hey, we've spent the afternoon, hell, the last few weeks chasing a ghost; we're close, Leah," Tony pointed out. He patted the bed next to him. "Come rest. Trust me. You're going to need it for our stake out tonight. It will help clear your head."

"I can sleep on the sofa," Leah argued, hugging herself tightly. She looked almost afraid to lay on the bed with him. "Tim said something about you having a bad back before we left and I promised him I would sleep on the sofa as much as possible. We both know that hasn't happened because you keep insisting on being a gentleman and taking the sofa…"

Tony scowled. "We're adults here, Dawson. I think we can share the bed for a nap."

Leah took a deep breath, and then a few tentative steps towards the bed where she then laid down on the mattress next to him.

He offered her a gentle smile and stretched out on his side next to her. Tony softly pushed the stray waves from her eyes. "Try to relax," he told her. "I'm going to be there, remember… my assignment is to _protect_ you. Plus, I have a lot of experience working undercover, if you follow my lead—we'll be okay."

She gazed into his eyes, felt that all too familiar magnetic pull between them, and leaned in closer. "I trust you," she affirmed, quietly. "I wasn't lying earlier to get you to stop from calling Tim."

"I know," Tony chuckled, still running his fingers through her hair. "Maybe we should have just trusted one another from the start; after all, we're on the same side."

"You had your reasons," Leah said, looking away briefly. "I didn't understand them at first, but now I do."

Tony cocked one eyebrow in curiosity. When they had first met there was so much distrust between the two of them he never thought they would ever come to some kind of understanding. "You do?"

Leah leaned in closer, her lips so close to his that she could feel his breath on her skin. "Yes, I do. You love her; you wanted to keep her safe just like you want to keep me safe now."

He slipped his hand down to the nape of her neck and gently forced her to look at him. "I don't love her, at least, I don't love her anymore. Mossad turned her into someone I no longer recognize. The woman I loved, she died, a long time ago." _In Somalia._

She looked as if she wanted to say something, but instead, she closed the final, small gap between them and kissed him. He didn't hesitate; he returned it, burying his hands in her hair and drawing her in. It was different this time, it wasn't like it had been in the elevator, when they had been charged up on anger, or when they had been sitting at the café, pretending… this was tender and real… and she found herself completely and utterly lost in the moment…

"I wish we weren't here," Tony whispered, pulling away from her. "God, Leah, I wish we'd met under different circumstances so we wouldn't have to put our careers first."

"But it doesn't have to be that way," Leah argued. "Why do we have to put our careers first? Why, for just once, can't we put what we want first?"

"Because, people are depending on us to do the job. To get justice."

"And by people, you mean Ziva, right?"

Tony softly ran his fingers through her hair. "I might not love her anymore, but she's still my friend; I want to see her get some closure to her father's death."

Leah swallowed and nodded. "You're…you're right… we have a job to do. It would… it would be wrong for us to give in to temptation at this point."

He silently cursed. It wasn't that he thought it was wrong… it just… "It's not the right time."

She smiled, shyly. "I never pegged you for a man that would turn down a woman throwing herself at you."

"I care about you. I don't want to hurt you," Tony replied, feeling his heart flutter seeing her smile at him that way.

"You're sweet," Leah murmured, sleepily, tracing his lips with her finger. "How come no woman has snatched you up yet?"

"Maybe," Tony said, locking eyes with her, "I haven't found the right one yet."

"She's out there."

"I know."

Leah drifted off to sleep, wrapped against his solid form. Tony rather liked how she felt against him. God, he wished the circumstances were different, that they were not here in Berlin to find Bodnar but rather… well… just _here_ together.

Tony leaned forward slightly and pressed a feathery kiss to her forehead; he didn't want to wake her. She did need to rest, she had no idea how long an undercover operation could take—they might be out all night. He wasn't worried about the assignment; he was worried about keeping her safe. Especially when he didn't know who was after her.

He'd kept his promise and did not call Tim to dig up information on Parsa, but he didn't like not knowing his opponent. And if anything happened to her, Tony would never forgive himself.

On the nearby table, he heard his computer signal a video call was coming in. Tony managed to get roll off the bed and not wake Leah up. He went to his laptop and slapped the answer key. "Hey boss."

"Where's Dawson?" Gibbs asked, taking in Tony's appearance of a tee shirt and boxers.

"She's sleeping," Tony replied. "Why? Is this something both of us need to hear?"

"You're both on a flight home, tomorrow," Gibbs said.

"What if we don't catch Bodnar tonight?"

"I don't care; I'm ordering you back to NCIS."

"Leah isn't going to take orders from you, boss, no offense, she's in charge of this investigation."

"She might not take orders from me, but from Homeland she will. Morrow agreed with me; until we know if Mossad was involved in ordering that hit on her, you're on the next flight home."

"Mossad?"

"Right now, they're cooperating. Appears someone might have set them up to take the fall for her death. We'll talk more when you're home."

Tony glanced over his shoulder at Leah, still sound asleep. He sighed and looked back at Gibbs on the computer screen. "She isn't going to be happy, boss. She's spent a lot of time on this, this case has been her life for the last four months…"

Gibbs scowled. "I don't need to hear about how she's married to her work; this is about her safety— _your_ safety. Until we know more about this hit out on her, you two are safer at home."

Before he could even respond, Gibbs was gone from Tony's computer screen. The senior field agent sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. He had seen Leah's notebooks on Bodnar, the time and effort she was putting into this case—when she took a case she dove in all the way. This wasn't going to go over well, it wasn't going to go over well at all.

* * *

Leah handled the news of their orders better than Tony had anticipated. She seemed to understand the danger that the pair was in and that the safest place for them at this point was back in D.C.

Tony's senses were heightened since Italy, but they were extremely heightened now as they stepped into the nightclub where Bodnar was supposedly going to pick up his diamonds. He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her inside, eyes searching for someone that matched the description of the man that Eschel had given them.

Once inside, Tony headed towards the bar. "Just try to relax," he whispered in Leah's ear, "act natural; we're just here trying to have a good time."

"Does that mean I'm allowed to have a glass of wine?" Leah mumbled.

"Depends, is it going to help you relax? Or just get you drunk and loose?" Tony responded.

"I need more than one glass of wine to get loose."

"Okay, I'll remember that."

Leah knew he was trying to use humor to ease her nerves, but it wasn't working. She was not cut out of for this; her job was to analyze intel, predict where a terrorist was going to strike next—stop attacks from happening. It was her job to bring people like Tony information—not help them on an actual field mission.

Tony sat down next to her at the bar, gently placed a hand on her knee, and ordered their drinks. He glanced the across the room once again, his expression never changing while he searched. In the corner of the room he caught sight of Eschel but so far, no sign of their diamond dropper.

"Just think, after tonight, you won't have to deal with me anymore," he drawled, turning back towards Leah.

"Your company hasn't been that bad," she confessed.

"Well," Tony said, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, "if we can't figure out who wants you dead—you might have my company for a while longer."

"Is it true?" Leah asked, blue eyes studying his face. "Is it true that Mossad might have been the ones to order my assassination?"

"You heard the video call today, didn't you?"

"Yes. I pretended I was sleeping."

Tony stroked her knee, noticing that she barely flinched at his touch, and answered, "Gibbs doesn't think Mossad was involved in that, rather, they were made to look involved."

Leah swallowed the lump in her throat. "So, you still have no idea who wants me dead?"

He shook his head. "No."

She adverted her eyes, glancing out across the dance floor—and then she caught sight him, the man that matched the description of their diamond guy. "Tony."

"I see," Tony said, taking a sip of his drink and standing up. "Come here."

"What?" Leah asked, watching as he held his hand out to her.

"We'll be able to observe him better on the dance floor."

"You're asking me to dance?"

"Yes. I'll be able to keep an eye on our suspect better from the dance floor."

"I… shouldn't we stay here?"

Tony smiled at her and took her hand. "Miss Dawson, please can I have this dance?"

Leah allowed him to lift her to her feet and lead her to the dance floor. She felt her body tense up; out here on the dance floor she felt completely vulnerable, like Bodnar and his colleagues could easily spot her…

He pulled her closer, their bodies molding together as one. "Relax. Just stay with me; just pretend you're with me."

She looked up into his eyes and felt the rest of the room fade away. Why did he hold that kind of power over her? She wasn't sure how long she was mesmerized by him, it broke when he noticed that their suspect was on the move.

* * *

Adam Eschel checked his watch and then straightened his tie. He glanced out across the night club, spotted Tony and Leah, and smiled to himself. _Yeah, not involved,_ he said, watching them. The way he grinned and played with her hair, how she smiled at him—anyone watching would think they were more than friends.

There didn't seem to be any awkwardness between them when Tony led her out to the dance floor, pulled her in close for a slow dance. Adam wondered if Leah had some kind of undercover training, or perhaps, Tony was just that good at making her relax and blend in. Either way, no one looking over at them would know that they were U.S agents and not a wildly in love couple.

 _Although,_ he thought shifting about the room to get a better look at their suspect, _I think everyone else but them realize how they feel._

His thoughts were quickly chased away when he saw their suspect make eye contact with someone and move. Adam slipped through the crowd, catching Tony's eye, and moved in on the dark haired man that joined their suspect. He just had to wait until the diamonds changed hands…

"Bodnar," Adam rasped when the diamonds were in the rogue officer's hand, "you are going to have to come with me."

"I did nothing wrong," the other man said, not turning around. "I am innocent."

"Give me the diamonds. They don't belong to you."

"Eli left them to my family."

Tony joined them, producing his handcuffs. "Somehow I doubt Eli David wanted the man who was responsible for his murder to get his wealth. Turn around Bodnar."

Slowly, the man turned around, revealing his face—revealing that he was not Ilan. Tony stood there stunned. "You can arrest me," the man said, "but I will not betray my brother. I will not tell you where he is."


	12. Chapter 12

**Warnings:** Same as usual.

 **A/N:** I apologize for the long delay, I needed a break from this site. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Sunlight was just starting to kiss the sky when Tony and Leah emerged from the police station in Berlin—hours of questioning Yaniv Bodnar, communicating with the NSA and the U.S State Department and they had finally reached agreement that Yaniv would be handed over to U.S authorities. Interpol was going to escort their prisoner; Tony and Leah were in charge of bringing the diamonds to the Washington.

Tony sighed and glanced up at the pink sky. In a few short hours they would be heading to the apartment and then heading back to D.C. "We can probably get a couple of hours of sleep before we have to check out of the hotel."

Leah nodded her head. "This wasn't exactly the ending we were searching for. I feel like I failed everyone."

"Hey," Tony said, reaching out and lifting her chin. He forced her to look at him. "You didn't fail. You got everyone closer to finding Bodnar and arresting him."

"But I've spent months, Tony. _Months._ I should be even closer than this," Leah argued. "I should have gotten him arrested by now."

"If there is one thing I've learned from being in law enforcement, sometimes, these things take _time._ "

"How much time, Tony? Bodnar could kill again before we catch him. Even more lives could be lost because of time!"

Tony sighed and lowered his hand. He signaled for a cab and instructed her inside when it pulled up. He climbed into the cab after her, closed the door, and used some clumsy German to instruct the driver to their hotel. "Unfortunately, I've also learned from law enforcement that some cases are never closed with time."

Leah glanced at him. She hated the idea of not finishing a job, of just quitting… "Then how long do you wait until you give up?"

He chuckled. "One day you just wake up and another, hotter, case has come along."

She scowled. "So, we keep chasing him until the trail goes cold?"

"You have the general idea."

"Well, that sucks."

Tony slipped his arm over the back of the seat. He locked eyes with her and forgot everything else that was going on. _I just want to kiss her,_ he thought, but he knew whatever they wanted to happen between them would have to be put on hold because there was no way Homeland was sending her back to the NSA. _Or…we could just forget rule 12…_

Leah's cheeks flushed under his intense gaze. Sure she was disappointed that they had not caught Bodnar to close the case, but it also meant keeping him at arm's length until further notice; she was rather starting to like him too…who was she kidding? She _really_ liked him.

He smiled at her, gently. "You know, we still have a few hours before we have to leave for the airport."

She glanced at him, slightly confused. "What do you have in mind?"

"Order room service for breakfast?" Tony asked as their cab pulled up to the hotel.

"Oh, living on the edge, huh?" Leah teased as she opened the door to get out.

"Always."

"Well, let's go to our room and live on the edge."

On the way up to their room, neither of them said a word, each trying to ignore their feelings and attraction for one another.

Tony quietly closed the door to their hotel room and turned to see Leah looking at him.

Leah took a deep breath. "Should I get the menu?" she inquired, softly.

He ran his tongue over his lips and in three steps reached her. Tony pulled her into his arms and kissed her, passionately. In one fluid motion, he had lifted her off the floor and carried her to the bed, gently placing her on it.

She felt her heart slam against her ribcage when he climbed back on top of her, dipping his head down to capture her lips in another searing kiss. The small voice in the back of her head, the last little tiny voice of reason, vanished and she began to unbutton his shirt.

"Are you sure?" Tony asked, huskily when he pulled away.

"Yes," Leah affirmed, finishing the last button. "I'm sure."

Tony carefully pulled her dress off, tossing it aside. He knew this was wrong; they shouldn't be doing this while working together, but _it's a stupid rule, DiNozzo. Why should you let it stand in your way? You never let anything stand in your way when it comes to women…_

Leah certainly did not seem to care about the rules. In fact, she was more aggressive than Tony was expecting—and he rather liked it. She wasn't afraid to take control, it seemed she liked to take control and he was more than happy to go along for the ride. Damn the consequences. He had let rule 12 dictate his life for far too long; he wanted intimacy, he wanted a personal connection with a woman, he wanted a relationship. He wanted _her._

He quickly finished undressing her before either one of them changed their mind; judging by how fast she got him undressed, Tony realized, they were past the point of no return. Carried away to another time and place, he forgot all about their case, about his conflicted feelings for his partner back home... and just focused on the beautiful woman that _was_ willing to give him everything he wanted.

She was actually _more_ than willing to give him what he wanted; she was passionate and fiery, making love to her was just as intense and intoxicating as he believed it was going to be. High on his euphoric feelings afterwards, he pulled her into his arms and fell asleep.

* * *

What felt like hours later, but in reality was only twenty minutes, the bed shifted, waking him; Tony reached out with his arms and pulled Leah back against his body. He nuzzled her hair and whispered, "Stay. I think you sleeping on the sofa is kind of pointless now."

She didn't put up any kind of struggle and settled back against him. Leah rolled over onto her back and gazed up at him. "Tony."

"Yeah," Tony said with a gentle smile, and then kissing her temple. "What is it?"

"Please… please tell me this is more… than a fling," Leah whispered, timidly.

Tony kissed her, hungrily, his hand trailing down the side of her body and grasping her bare hip. "You are not a fling, Leah; trust me, if I had wanted just a fling with you, I would have had sex with you a lot sooner and not cared about anything else."

Leah ran her fingers lightly through his hair. "I never felt like this before, Tony. I mean, sure I've been attracted to men before, even some I've worked with, but somehow, I've always managed to fight it—but not with you. I knew this was probably a bad idea, considering we're working this case together... but I didn't care. I feel like I'm going a little bit crazy..."

He traced her jawline with his thumb, locking eyes with hers. "You're not crazy, only rules we're breaking are Gibbs' rules, and I wouldn't just throw away rule 12 for anyone, Leah. She was going to have to be some very special—you are."

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his waist. Burying her nose against his bare chest a ghost of smile spread across her face as she began to drift back to sleep.

"Hey," Tony said, shaking her a wake. "As much as I would love to lay here all day—we have a plane to catch."

"I know," Leah said, sighing. She opened her eyes to look at him. "When we get back to Washington…we're going to have to be more careful. If the wrong person finds out we slept together…it could be bad."

"So, you want this to continue once we get back to D.C, huh?"

"Yes. Don't you... don't you want to continue... this...once we get home?"

Tony gently kissed her. "Yeah, I want to continue to explore this…whatever it is between us…"

Leah studied him for a moment. "What do you think is happening?"

He chuckled. "I think I'm going to plead the fifth on that question."

She smiled, coyly. "Are you afraid to answer it, Agent DiNozzo."

"Yes, I'm terrified to answer that Leah."

"Why?"

"Believe it or not... serious relationships are not my strong suit."

"Maybe I can help with that."

Tony wanted nothing more, he realized, than for Leah to help him overcome his fears of commitment since Jeanne. He softly kissed her lips, pulling away from her, he took her face between his hands and whispered, "If anyone can help me, you can."

Leah laughed softly but stopped when she saw the hurt wash over his face. "I'm not laughing at you," she assured him, "just... here's my first bit of advice...cheesy lines don't really work well with me."

He chuckled. "Who says I was being cheesy? Maybe I was totally serious..."

She ran a finger along his jawline. "Decryption is my strong suit... not mending broken hearts... just so you know."

"Believe me," Tony said, "if you can decrypt me... you'll mend that broken heart."

"You know," Leah said, pressing her lips to his in a lingering kiss, "We can always call and change our flight... tell Gibbs we got held up at the embassy..."

Tony grinned, gave her one more hungry, desperate kiss, and then reached for the phone.

* * *

Tim returned from getting a second cup of coffee to find Ziva searching airplane manifestos. "What are you doing?" he asked, coming up behind her.

Ziva didn't flinch. "U.S. Marshall's brought Yaniv to Washington early this morning but Tony has yet to leave Germany. He told Gibbs they were held up by the State Department. What could they possibly still be doing in Berlin? We have already determined that it is not where Ilan is. So, why stay? Homeland must want Leah back in D.C to continue _her_ investigation."

 _I have an idea of what's going on, but you're not going to like it. Tony and Leah totally did it in Berlin,_ Tim thought, but didn't want to voice it. Ziva was jealous enough as it was; he was not going to add any fuel to the fire. He knew better than that. "I don't know," he lied, "I'm sure Tony will let us know what went on when he gets back to Washington. Gibbs didn't seem too worried."

"He should be worried," Ziva snapped.

"What should I be worried about?" Gibbs questioned, entering the bullpen.

"Why Tony and Leah have not returned from Berlin; clearly something isn't right!"

Gibbs glanced at Tim, the junior agent knew immediately that he had come to the same conclusion-Tony had broken rule 12 and wanted more time to mess around before returning to D.C. "They had some more paperwork to fill out. Their flight leaves in an hour; call the airline, see if they've gone through security if you're so worried."

Ziva scowled even more. As much as she wanted to call the airline, she knew that might be considered borderline stalking, and if Tony ever found out, there would be hell to pay. "No... it is not necessary that I call," she mumbled, getting back to work.

Tim watched as Gibbs flashed a little smile and proceeded to his desk. If he hadn't been watching Gibbs he would have missed the look of death that the senior agent shot towards Tony's desk. _DiNozzo, there's going to be hell to pay when you get home,_ Tim thought with a mild shake of his head. _Of course, only you could break rule 12 and come up smelling like a rose._ Somehow, Tim was sure that was exactly what was going to happen.

His phone buzzed on his desk, and the junior agent glanced down to see that it was a text message from Tony. _Just boarded our plane, see you in a few hours, Probie!_

Letting out a small sigh, Tim sat down. He had a few hours of peace and quiet, because he knew that once Tony was back at NCIS, everything was going to explode-between Tony and Gibbs, between Tony and Ziva-and poor Tim was probably going to find himself right in the middle, yet again.

* * *

"Deciding which one you're going to keep?" Tony asked as he drove them home that evening. "Doubt the CIA is going to miss one little diamond."

"I'm not keeping one," Leah insisted, fingers running through the diamonds she had dumped on her lap. When the U.S Marshall's came to take Yaniv, they had turned the diamonds over to her. "The CIA is expecting that we hand all of these over to them tomorrow morning."

Tony feigned disappointment. "Too bad; they would have looked lovely on you."

Leah glanced sideways at him as she put the diamonds back into their pouch. "You sound like my mother; she was always the flashy one. She never did like the fact that I went to work for the government. It wasn't a job that socialites did. I think I did it just to spite her."

He chuckled. "Well, if you hadn't worked for the NSA, we never would have met." Tony turned and reached for her hand. "I'm glad that you decided to defy your mother."

She smiled, softly as he kissed her hand, a gentle look passing between them, but then his eyes widened in horror as the car lit up with oncoming headlights. The last thing she remembered was him reaching out with his arm to protect her head as her window shattered in the collision, glass raining down on them, even as the world went entirely dark.


	13. Chapter 13

**Warnings:** Same as usual.

 **A/N:** Good morning everyone and happy Saturday! Here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Everything came to her in flashes.

Flashes of red and blue lights, of Tony yelling at her to stay awake, of faces she didn't recognize leaning over her, talking to her, but their words were jumbled—she couldn't make them out. Were they speaking English? Maybe she was still in Germany…

She felt a pinch in her arm, realized that someone had pierced her skin with a needle and saw an EMT hooking her up to an IV. Had she dehydrated? Lost blood? _What happened…_

Leah closed her eyes, blocking out the bright lights that suddenly assaulted her. She heard doors slamming and a voice yelling. Just as she slipped into an unconscious state once again, she saw Tony—blood covering his face—fighting with the EMT's as the ambulance sped away.

* * *

Gibbs popped open a fresh beer and sat down at his dining table. Tossing his cell phone onto the table, he was hoping to settle down for a quiet night...

"Hey, Jethro, are you home?" Tobias Fornell called out, suddenly.

"In the kitchen," Gibbs responded with a shake of his head. _So much for a quiet night._

Fornell appeared, with a bag of take-out food and a dossier in his hand. "Got that file you asked for," he said, waving the folder in the air. "I had to pull a lot strings to get this, Jethro. You owe me one."

Gibbs stood up, sipping his beer. He silently went to the refrigerator and retrieved one for Fornell. "Does it say anything about her family?" he asked, handing the beer to his old friend.

"Just the usual," Fornell replied. "Her mother was the heiress to a shipping company, her father a top-notch attorney turned senator of Massachusetts. Why so interested in Leah Dawson, Gibbs? She's one of the best analysts at the NSA."

"It's not her work ethic I'm questioning," Gibbs said. "She does her job and she does the job extremely well. I'm trying to figure out who would want her dead beside Ilan Bodnar."

Fornell popped his beer open and sat down across from Gibbs. "You think a political rival of Senator Dawson could be responsible?"

Gibbs shrugged and set his beer aside. "This is Washington, D.C; I wouldn't toss the possibility out just yet, Tobias."

Slowly, the FBI agent leaned back in his chair. "Miss Dawson has been involved in some very high profile cases, but there's one in particular that I think you'll be interested in," he said, tapping the file. "It's going to give you a whole lot of answers you've been looking for in the last few months."

Curiosity peaked, Gibbs opened the file and began to read it, feeling a pit form in his stomach. The assassination of Eli David went much deeper than any of them had imagined and Leah was close to filling in that final gap; _this is what almost got her killed in Italy._ He opened his mouth to say something but his phone buzzed on the table. With a grumble, he answered, sternly, "Tim, this better be good."

" _Sorry to bother you, boss,"_ Tim said on the other line, " _but it's Tony and Leah-there's been an accident."_

"Accident? What kind of accident, McGee?"

" _Tony was driving Leah back from the airport when an SUV crashed into their car."_

Gibbs felt the room spin, slightly, his gut tingled. "Was it intentional, McGee?"

Tim was hesitant to answer until Gibbs pressed him further. " _Witnesses confirm that the SUV sped up as Tony entered the intersection, they saw a man get out, retrieve something from Tony's car and after Tony attempted to shoot him, the man got into another SUV and sped off. It appears to be a calculated hit and run, boss."_

 _"_ Are Tony and Leah injured?" Gibbs asked, then immediately thought, _what a stupid question! Of course they are!_

" _Yes, Tony sustained lacerations to his face, arms, and hands,"_ Tim answered, gravely. " _Leah was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries; from what I've gathered one of her major arteries was cut during the crash. Tony applied pressure to it until the paramedics arrived."_

"Has Director Vance been notified?"

" _Not yet, boss. I thought that I would call you first."_

Gibbs stood up and grabbed his sweatshirt laying nearby. "Call Vance, I'll call Homeland, and then head to the hospital."

Tim cleared his throat. " _What about Ziva?"_

He didn't have time for this. Gibbs sighed, angrily. "What about her?"

The younger agent hesitated once again. " _What should I tell her?"_

"Nothing," Gibbs said as he grabbed his keys and weapon. "Right now, she's on a need-to-know basis, and _this_ she doesn't need to know."

* * *

Tony sat on the hospital bed, head in his hands; he had refused treatment until he was sure Leah was going to make it. Nurses had forced him into this room once Leah had been rushed upstairs to the operating room. Her arm had been pinned against the metal frame of the door, which had punctured her artery, along with suffering a compound fracture of her right arm, she also had hit her head against the window and possibly suffered a concussion.

He had done his best, with the limited medical training he had, to make sure that Leah had not bled to death before the paramedics had arrived. The diamonds were gone, Bodnar was gone... there had been no way Tony could possibly stop him after the crash. Bodnar was going to pay; Tony was going to make sure of it.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs voice startled him.

"Boss," Tony rasped, glancing up to see the team leader step into the hospital room. "I messed up."

Gibbs frowned, turned, and shut the door behind him. He went to stand next to Tony's bed. "Shut up, DiNozzo. You didn't mess up. Bodnar used a Chevy Surburian as a weapon and from what I hear-you saved Leah's life."

Tony shook his head. "I didn't do enough, boss. I should have seen that truck coming; and she's not out of the woods yet. Her arm could still get infected, they don't know if her brain is damaged..."

He sighed. _Typical Tony,_ Gibbs thought, _blaming himself._ "Speaking of doctors, they told me you're refusing treatment. You hit your head too, Tony, you need to be examined to make sure you're all right and you probably should have that cut on your nose stitched up. Hate for it to leave a scar."

"I appreciate your attempt to cheer me up with humor, boss," Tony whispered, running a hand through his hair. Gibbs noticed it was all cut up. "But it's not working."

"Would it cheer you up to know that McGee tracked the license plate of the get away car?" Gibbs inquired.

"He did? Already? I mean... McGee is the best..."

"He did; waiting on the proper warrants to go arrest him."

Tony jumped down from the hospital bed. "Great, just let me get my gun back and I'm ready to go..."

Gibbs put a hand on Tony's chest and with relative ease pushed him back on the bed. "DiNozzo, you're in no shape-physically or mentally-to go get this guy."

Crestfallen, Tony nodded. He knew he wasn't in top form, that was why Gibbs was so easily able to shove him back to the bed. "I failed boss; I had one job to do-to protect her-and I failed."

"If you hadn't been in a car accident, I'd slap you right now," Gibbs snapped.

"Yeah, I know, boss," Tony mumbled with a half-assed smile. "Haven't even met her parents yet and they probably already hate me."

There was very little time for Gibbs to process that last piece of information; his cell was ringing and he knew who was calling before he even picked it up. "I haven't found out anything new yet, Leon."

Tony could tell from the annoyed look on Gibbs' face that Vance wasn't happy. It had only been a few hours, he wasn't sure what exactly the Director was hoping the team leader had found out; Tony wondered if perhaps Vance was keeping _this_ underwraps just like they had covered up Jackie's death, Eli's death-Jenny's.

Gibbs hung up the phone and scowled. "Vance thinks I'm moving too slow on this; gotta go. Call me as soon as Dawson is out of surgery, and make sure you get treated for those injuries, got it?"

"Yeah boss," Tony said, with a nod of his head. "What about her parents? Her father is a senator..."

"Tom Morrow was going to handle that," Gibbs replied.

"Glad I'm not him."

"Me too."

* * *

Massachusetts Senator John Dawson _hated_ being called into his office this late at night. He wasn't even properly dressed for a meeting with Homeland Security Director Tom Morrow; he was wearing sweats for crying outloud. "This better be good, Tom," the Senator grumbled when he arrived at his office. "It's almost midnight."

Tom glanced at the Senator's aide that had entered with him and then at the secret service agent. "Can we have some privacy please?"

John saw his aide hesitate and he briefly nodded. When the other two occupants of the room were gone, John closed the door. "Ok, we're alone; what's going on?"

"Your daughter was in a car accident tonight," Tom replied.

"Is it... is it bad?" John questioned, feeling all the rage leaving his body. "I wasn't aware Leah was home."

"She returned this evening. Senator, we have reason to believe that this was an intentional act."

"Intentional? Someone hit her car on purpose?"

Tom nodded, solemnly. "Yes. Your daughter has been working on a highly classified case; we think that the man under investigation rammed his car into hers and hired someone else to use as a getaway car. NCIS has located the owner of the getaway car and they are going to apprehend him as we speak."

John sat down on the edge of his desk. "She told me not to worry, that she had an agent with her at all times while she was over in Europe. Guess an agent isn't going to stop a car..."

"Agent DiNozzo was with her at the time of the accident. He's probably the one that saved her life," Tom said.

"How... how bad is she?" John stammered. _How the hell am I going to tell my wife all this?_

"She's lost a lot of blood; doctors are operating on her."

"What... what hospital? My wife and I are going to want to be there."

"Washington General."

John reached for his phone to order his car be brought out front. He didn't care that he was in his sweats, he was going to the hospital to be with his daughter. "You better have every available agent on this, Tom. If my daughter dies because of some assignment _you_ gave her, I could make life hell for you."

Tom swallowed, anxiously. Leah had once warned him about her father's temper. He had no doubt that John Dawson would make life hell for him if she didn't make it. "My agents think Parsa is behind it."

"Parsa? I thought the Seals executed him months ago," John said, slamming his phone down.

"So did I," Tom replied. "New information was brought to my attention. Looks like the Seals killed the wrong terrorist."

"Leah wasn't supposed to be working that case anymore, not when Intel discovered he knew she was my daughter."

"She wasn't working that case, Senator. We think that someone leaked information to Parsa on where she was."

John felt that rage returning. "How did Parsa get into the U.S?"

Tom shook his head. "He didn't; we haven't been to find any evidence of this, but we think Parsa is also involved in the death of Eli David and Arash Kazmi. They're working together, he used Ilan Bodnar to conduct his dirty work once Leah was back in the States."

His phone buzzed, signaling that his car was ready. John glared, hard, at the Director of Homeland Security. "Find the bastard, Tom," he snapped, before storming out of the room and heading to the hospital to be with his daughter.


	14. Chapter 14

**Warnings:** Spoilers for S10

 **A/N:** Here is the next chapter :) Thanks everyone for your reviews and support!

* * *

Tony finally allowed the nurses to treat him after Leah had made it through her surgery and with the amount of security buzzing around the hospital with the arrival of Senator Dawson, he felt comfortable leaving her to head to NCIS for a few hours.

Something wasn't settling right in his stomach. How did Bodnar know where to find them? Their travel plans were only known to them and to NCIS; so either Bodnar hacked into NCIS or there was a mole selling him information. Tony slipped into the evidence locker and retrieved Leah's laptop. He knew Abby was going to be busy but with Tim off on some secret take-down, the forensic scientist was going to be his only option to comb over Leah's computer.

Abby was busy working on his car when he found her in the garage combing over his totaled car for evidence. Tony cringed seeing the crumpled metal. _We're lucky to be alive..._

"Oh my God, Tony!" Abby shouted, running at him full force. She engulfed him in a tight hug. "What are you doing here? You should be resting!"

"Doctors said I was free to go," Tony said, slithering away from her. "I need your help, Abs. Someone had to have told Bodnar where to find us and at what time; can you look through this and see if it's been hacked?"

She chewed on the inside of her cheek. "Does Leah know you have this?" Abby asked. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable going through her personal stuff..."

He frowned. "Abs, she almost died. I don't think she's going to mind if you find something that's going to put away the bastard that rammed my car."

Abby grabbed the laptop from him. "I'll see what I can find."

Tony smiled, softly. "Thanks, Abs. I knew I could count on you."

"If I find something, should I call Gibbs?"

"No. Call me. Gibbs has enough on his plate tracking down the driver of that SUV."

She didn't like hiding things from Gibbs, and he knew that. "Why don't you want Gibbs to know if I find something? Do you have a hunch _who_ it was?"

He licked his lips, thanked her again, and fled the garage. Once in the elevator, Tony leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath. Yes, he had a hunch, and this was one of those times he prayed his hunch wasn't spot on. Stepping out of the elevator, he turned towards his desk. He needed to gather up some things before heading back to his "post" at the hospital. Gibbs hadn't assigned him to stay as Leah's protection detail, but since he wasn't assigned to the current case, he was taking the responsibility on himself.

Tony found clean clothes in his filing cabinet, his extra shaving kit, and some protein bars. He'd grab a shower at the gym, toss out his blood covered clothes, and head back to Washington General to be with Leah...

"What the hell happened to you?" Ziva gasped entering the bullpen. "You look like you were in a fight."

"You could say that," Tony mumbled, throwing his go-bag over his shoulder. "Lost a fight with an SUV."

"Is that some kind of American saying that I do not understand?"

"Nope," Tony snapped, heading off. "I'm taking the day. Gibbs orders."

Ziva wasn't buying his sudden exit. She dropped her gear by her desk and chased after him. "Wait a minute, what is going on? Where are Gibbs and McGee? And why do you look like that?" When she didn't get an answer she stood in the elevator door, preventing it from closing, and asked, "Where's Leah? I thought you two were returning from your European field trip last night?"

Tony's jaw twitched at the mention of Leah and he saw her, ashen, blood covering her face. "She's in the hospital. That SUV I lost the fight with... it almost killed her last night."

"You were in a car accident?"

 _Don't do it, Tony, don't tell her the truth..._ "Yeah. We were heading back from the airport."

"Is that why Gibbs and McGee are not here?"

"They're finishing up what Leah and I were supposed to do."

Ziva nodded. "The diamonds then?"

Tony flinched, slightly. "Handled."

If she sensed that he was lying, she didn't call him out on it. Ziva stepped back from the door, allowing it to shut. Tony sighed in relief; he hated that he had lied to her, but until he knew the entire truth behind what was going on, it was best to keep her in the dark.

* * *

When she had been seven years old, Leah had gotten terribly sick with the flu. She had been home from school for days, laying in bed in a fevered haze, only aware of her mother coming in to give her more medicine and wipe her forehead with a cold towel.

Leah felt like she was seven again, floating in a hazy world, only instead of her mother coming in to check on her it was doctors and nurses. She was sure her mother was a there, she could hear voices other than her doctors and nurses, but there was one voice missing... "Tony?"

"Agent DiNozzo had to go to NCIS, sweetheart," a distant, yet familiar voice comforted.

"Mama?" Leah questioned, opening her eyes and coming face to face with her mother's face.

Katherine Dawson smiled down at her daughter, pushing the hair from her eyes. Her mother was still smiling, relief in her eyes; she was perfectly dressed- Leah didn't expect anything less of a Boston socialite. "I'm here, baby."

Leah glanced around the hospital room. It was light outside, there were flowers and balloons all over the place. How long had she been in the hospital? Feeling her mother's hand on her cheek, Leah glanced back at Katherine.

"He isn't here," Katherine said. "He had some things to take care of at NCIS."

"Is...is he...coming back?" Leah questioned, softly.

"Hmmm, I see what's going on here," her mother said with a wicked grin.

"Mama..."

"What? He is very handsome and charming."

"I just want to make sure he's alright," Leah stated, trying to sound tough but failing at pulling it off.

Katherine poured her daughter a glass of water. "He was a little beat up, but otherwise fine. You were the one that was seriously injured." She helped Leah sit up and handed her the water. "I always knew this job was dangerous, Leah. I wish you had gone to school to become a doctor or a teacher or something much safer."

Leah sipped her water, too tired to have this familiar fight with her mother. "How long do I have to have my arm in this sling?"

"As long as the doctor tells you to keep it on," Katherine snapped.

"Mom..."

"At least six weeks."

"How am I supposed to work?"

"Maybe you should take the time off, honey."

 _I can't do that._ Leah shifted, causing some slight pain and discomfort. "I'm sure I can find some way to work in the office, maybe voice recognition software..."

Katherine closed her eyes tightly. "You need to rest..." she started to argue, but was interuppted when her husband came back into the room.

John smiled at his daughter and asked Katherine to leave. "Can I have a few moments alone to talk to her? I promise, I'll go gentle, and I'll make sure she rests once we're done."

Leah watched her mother leave, waited for the door to shut behind her, and sighed, "Thanks Daddy."

"Well, don't thank me just yet," John said. "I wasn't kidding when I said we need to talk."

"Am I in trouble?"

"Depends on what you define as trouble, young lady."

"Dad, I know what you're going to say..."

The Senator frowned at his daughter. John was certain she knew what he was going to say, they'd had this discussion before, back in January after Eli David was killed; and they were going to have it again, right now. "Are you still working on the Parsa case?"

Leah swallowed, nervously. "Not since January. I swear, Daddy, Director Morrow pulled me from that case as soon as we learned that Parsa knew all about my family and that you were in support of military action to take out his cell."

John pursed his lips. "Leah, does NCIS know about Parsa?"

"No. It wasn't relevant to this case I'm working with them."

"What if it is?"

"Huh?"

"What if Parsa and Bodnar are working together?"

She didn't say anything. Leah had pondered the same connections herself but told herself that she was crazy. Bodnar and Parsa didn't gain anything from one another... _or did they? You know Eli David was looking for Parsa as well..._ "I haven't found any solid evidence of that."

He leaned forward and crossed his hands in his lap. John knew it wasn't his place to tell his daughter how to do her job, but he felt she was putting her life in danger by not letting NCIS know about her other investigation and the potential connections. "You need to let NCIS know, or at least Agent DiNozzo know."

Leah tucked her chin against her chest and adverted her eyes. "I told Agent DiNozzo in Europe."

John glared at her. "Why didn't he tell NCIS?"

"I asked him not too."

"For crying out loud, Leah."

"Daddy... the information was classified..."

Her father looked like he was about to explode, when someone knocked on the door and the head of the Senator's Chief of Staff peaked in. "Senator? The car is here to take us to the Capital."

Leah didn't feel any relief as her father got up from his chair; she knew that when he was back from the session that afternoon they would be continuing this conversation.


	15. Chapter 15

**Warnings:** Spoilers for s10

 **A/N:** Thanks everyone for the support, over 100 reviews, over 50 favorites and over 80 follows on this story :) Enjoy this next update!

* * *

"Please, don't look at me that way," Leah murmured when Tony showed up at the hospital later that evening. "I'm fine."

"You almost died," Tony argued with her. He pulled a chair up next to her bed, found her good hand, and squeezed it.

"But I didn't; you saved me," she countered, with a soft smile.

"I just kept you alive until the people who knew what they were doing got there," Tony said, distantly.

Leah ran her thumb along his scraped knuckles. One of her nurses had mentioned that he did not want to be showered with praise for his part in saving her life; she was surprised that a man who appeared so cocky and confident on the outside did not enjoy being praised. Apparently, another complex layer had been revealed to her...

Tony lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, gently. "I know that you're tired, but we need to talk. I promise, this is not going to take very long and you can go back to watching late night TV."

She sighed and looked at her injured arm for a moment. "Is this about Benham Parsa?" _My father already beat you to the punch._

He nodded and gave her hand another squeeze. "Yes. I think it's time we told Gibbs."

"You talked with my dad, didn't you?"

"Senator Dawson _might_ have stopped me on his way out this evening."

Leah tried to pull her hand away from him, but Tony was stronger, and continued to hold on tightly. "There's no evidence to suggest that Parsa and Bodnar are working together."

Tony ran his tongue over his lips. "Okay, let's look at this from a more... hypothetical perspective... both have a lot to gain from joining forces. Bodnar stopped the talks with Iran and Mossad has ceased to search for Parsa's cell. Taking out Eli David was lucrative for both of them."

She thought about it for a moment; he did have a point. "Bodnar insists that he wasn't the one to kill Eli or Jackie."

He nodded. "That's because he wasn't; Parsa did the dirty work for him. I bet if we look deeper into finances we'll find that it was Parsa that wired the money to the hitman, using the code term that Ziva identified as Ilan. We took it at face value. We should have dug deeper."

"Even if we dig deeper, it doesn't explain why Bodnar tried to kill us."

"Don't think it was intentional. He wanted his money to continue running. We were collateral damage."

"Parsa wouldn't have used Bodnar to kill me that way; he likes dramatics, the bigger the bang..."

"So you're saying there's a chance that Parsa is the one that hired the hitman in Italy..."

Leah glanced at him. "There isn't a chance; he was the one to hire him. Remember that other thing I was working on? The NSA had traced wire transfers to Italy from Parsa; they were concerned when we left that Parsa had put a target on my back. After the guy tried to kill me in Rome, the NSA followed up with Italian authorities. They found my original contact dead; the hitman posed as him to get close to me."

Tony felt anger begin to bubble. "And you didn't tell me? Leah, I know what you're working on at the NSA is classified, and under any other circumstances, I probably wouldn't push you, however, this is _your_ life we're talking about. If this Parsa is out to get you, then we need to be pooling resources to find him and arrest him."

She took a deep breath. "Everything you need is in my notebooks."

He kissed her hand again. "Where are those notebooks?"

"In my desk, at the NSA."

"I need those notebooks, Leah."

"Give me my cell phone," she said, gesturing towards the phone on the nearby table. "I'll make some calls."

"Have them brought here," he instructed her. "I'm not leaving you alone."

"Security did a full sweep before my father got here."

"Yeah, and I don't trust them."

Leah dialed her team back at the NSA. "Do you trust anyone?"

Tony smiled at her, leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "I trust you."

She frowned at him while she made the phone call. "Don't try to butter me up," Leah snapped after hanging up. "The notebooks will be here in an hour."

He set his jaw and nodded. "Good. We can go over them together."

"You're not going to take them back to NCIS?"

"No. I'm going to need you to help sort through your notes; I've seen how you operate."

"And," Leah said, with a sad smile, "you don't want to leave me alone."

"I promised a lot of people to keep you safe," Tony replied. "Your father will have my head if I don't."

She yawned then, her eyes struggling to stay open. Even though she was feeling better, Leah was still recovering and had very little energy.

He gently pushed her hair back. "Rest," Tony instructed her. "I'll be here and I won't let anything else happen to you."

* * *

Leah ended up sleeping for hours. During that time, Tony poured through her notebooks that one of her colleagues had dropped off. One thing he had learned so far was that Leah left no stone unturned. She was meticulous in her note taking. _She would have made a great federal agent..._

Tony pulled up, suddenly, when something _finally_ caught his attention. He reached for Leah's good shoulder and gently shook her awake. "Leah, wake up. I think I might have found something."

"Are those my notebooks?" she asked, sleepily.

"Yes," he replied, stroking her cheek. "You made a note about a Mossad presence just before Parsa's first known attack."

"Yeah," Leah said, shifting painfully and sitting up. "Director David was looking for him so he sent some agents. Why?"

"You made a note that the attack was sloppy," Tony said, "not the work of a well organized terrorist cell."

Leah nodded, recalling her notes now. "Parsa was just starting out; I thought he just got excited and acted sooner than he originally planned. If he knew that Mossad was in the area... then he might have carried out the attack way ahead of schedule."

Tony closed the notebook and looked at her seriously. "Leah, do you know what you just discovered here?" he questioned, when she shook her head, he continued, "We found motive for Parsa to take out Eli David _and_ Arash Kazmi. Bodnar was telling you the truth when he called you in Berlin; he didn't kill them. We've been chasing an innocent man."

* * *

Gibbs was seated at his desk, eating cold take out food, when the elevator sounded. He looked up to see Tony charge off, a spiral notebook in his hand. "I thought you were staying at the hospital?"

"Senator Dawson and his wife came to visit," Tony said, "and with them two Secret Service agents."

"What are you doing here?" the team leader wondered. "Vance told you to take some time off."

Tony placed Leah's notebook down onto Gibbs' desk. "This was important. Something that Leah told me about in Europe was bugging me; I've been reading over her notes from her investigation prior to being assigned to tracking Bodnar. This is just one notebook Leah has on a terrorist named Benham Parsa. She went to the Middle East to find him two years ago. I earmarked the page you might find interesting, boss."

Gibbs flipped the notebook open and began to read. Fornell had brought him all the information that the FBI had on Parsa but Leah had things written down that had not been included in the report the NSA had passed on to the FBI. "Mossad was in the Middle East at the same time," he stated, looking up at Tony.

"Yeah," the SFA said, gruffly. "If you keep reading you'll notice that Leah makes a note that Parsa's first attack was sloppy, disorganized and it cost him men, supplies... what if Parsa blamed Eli David?"

"Then he very well could have ordered the hit," Gibbs said, closing the notebook. "The only connection of the money we had to Bodnar was the name the account and it's Hebrew meaning."

"Boss, Bodnar could have been telling Leah the truth. He might not have been the one to kill Eli, Jackie and Kazmi."

"Keep digging, DiNozzo. Once Dawson is back on her feet, get her in here to help."

Tony sighed. "I'm worried about her, boss. Someone had to have told Bodnar where to find us."

Gibbs licked his lips. "I know. I had McGee look to see if your phones were traced."

"And?"

"Nothing."

"Abs is checking out Leah's laptop for me."

"You think a tracker was placed in her computer?"

"It's possible."

Gibbs took a deep breath. From the beginning, he'd had a feeling that this ran deeper than just Ilan Bodnar. "I want you to stay with Leah, twenty four-seven, DiNozzo. She leaves that hospital, you go with her. At least until we know what's going on. Understood?"

Tony set his jaw and nodded. "You don't have to even ask me, boss. I wasn't planning on leaving her alone. The assassination of a United States' Senator's daughter could have disastrous consequences on national security."

"Could?" the team leader repeated, gruffly. "It _would_ have consequences."

"Well, we could always cover up it like we did with Jackie," the senior field agent spat, angrily.

"DiNozzo..."

"Sorry, Gibbs, I just... it was wrong. Kayla and Jared deserved to know the truth."

He didn't disagree, but orders were orders, especially when they came down from Homeland Security. Gibbs stood and rubbed the back of his head. "Nothing we can do now. Get back to Washington General and let me know when you hear from Abby."


	16. Chapter 16

**Warnings** : Spoilers for S10

 **A/N:** Sorry for the long delay. I feel like I'm saying that a lot lately when I do manage to post. Anyways, here is the next chapter, kind of a filler, but needed to set things up for the coming chapters. Enjoy!

* * *

 ** _Two weeks later..._**

Ziva paused outside of Tony's door. The SFA had been absent from the bullpen for the last two weeks since the accident and while McGee claimed he didn't have any idea where Tony was or what he was up too, Ziva knew better. Taking a deep breath, Ziva knocked.

Tony answered, wearing a pair of navy blue sweatpants and a black tee-shirt. "Ziva? What are you doing here? It's almost midnight," he said, sounding groggy. In the background she could hear some jazz playing and from the small peek she got of the apartment behind him, she saw that the gas fireplace was lit. He was going to have to tell her how he afford this place someday...

"You have not been at work for two weeks," Ziva pointed out.

"So you decided to come over here in the middle of the night?" Tony snapped. "You could have called."

"Would you have answered?" she asked, honestly.

He paused, his lips pursed together, and then sighed. "No."

She narrowed her eyes. "Now you know why I came here."

Tony's brow furrowed. "I'm fine, Ziva. You know that Vance took me off the case after the driver was tracked down and killed."

Ziva took a step toward him. "It is not like you to just walk away from a case that we are actively investigating. What is really going on?"

"We? There is no _we_ investigating this case," Tony argued. "You've been removed from the case, orders from Homeland Security; unless you've been secretly sneaking around again."

"If I had been in Europe with you, we would have Bodnar in custody right now," Ziva retorted, angrily. "Leah might be good at analyzing intel but she does not have a clue when it comes to criminal investigation."

Anger glazed over his green eyes, and he looked annoyed with her. "Nothing would have changed," Tony snapped, "except _you_ would have been in that car with me and not Leah. This isn't some run of the mill case, Ziva. This is Mossad. So, you can wipe the smug look off your face and check you're _I'm better at this job than you attitude_ at the door."

She was not going to back down and check her attitude at the door like he requested; instead she spat at him, "I am Mossad! This is exactly why I should have been on this case! I know how they operate!"

Tony ran his tongue over his lips. "I am Mossad? I'm pretty sure you had to give up that life to become an NCIS agent and a U.S citizen. Have you been a double agent this whole time?"

Ziva scoffed. "Do not be ridiculous, Tony. You know what I meant."

"Do I?"

"How can you possible believe I still work for Mossad? Clearly, I do not."

He shrugged. "Somedays, since your father was killed, honestly, I don't know who you work for."

She clenched her fists. "Gibbs. I have _always_ worked for Gibbs."

"Even when you lied to him about your involvement with Rivkin?"

"I never lied to him..."

"Oh, that's right, you only lie to me; your partner."

"I am not having this argument with you again."

Tony shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. "So, why did you come here? Did you think I was going to open my door and welcome you in with open arms. I almost got killed because of your meddling in this case. If you had left well enough alone I never would have been in that car with Leah."

Ziva angrily shifted her weight. "After the bombing we were getting closer, we wanted to be more open, no more secrets. I was never going to keep the information that I found about Bodnar from you, I just wanted to gather enough before telling you, and you, you're holding some kind of grudge against me. I cannot believe I even considered breaking rule 12 with you!"

His eyebrows shot up in interest with that statement. Tony's jaw twitched ever so slightly. "If you had come to me right away, I would have helped you, because foolishly I believed that finding Bodnar, getting you the revenge you were craving, was going to bring back the woman I once loved and cared about. But that woman died, Ziva, she died in Somalia. I just wish I had realized that sooner. I might have saved myself a lot of heartbreak."

She was about to respond when movement behind him caught her attention. Brown eyes shifting up, she caught a glimpse of Leah and her heart fell into her stomach. The other woman was wearing one of Tony's old Ohio State teeshirts- _one he offered to you when you stayed here-_ and after a brief moment of surprise of seeing her there, a smug look passed over her face, at least smug to Ziva. "Seems you had no problems breaking rule 12 with _her."_

 _"_ Actually, we didn't break any rules," Tony said, with a casual shrug. "Leah is NSA, I work for NCIS. Once this case is closed we're no longer _co-workers._ "

"Does Gibbs know?" Ziva hissed.

"No," the SFA said, "at least I don't think he does and if he does, I don't care."

"You would risk your career for some fling?"

"I wouldn't risk it for a fling, but for a relationship I would."

Ziva laughed, trying to cover up her anguish. What did Leah have that she did not? Was it her parents' money? If that was the case, Eli David had left his daughter everything, more money than even John Dawson had. "Relationship?" she repeated, "When was the last time you were in a serious relationship?"

Tony reached out and grabbed the door. "Good night, Ziva. Next time you decided to stop by, call. It's the polite thing to do." And with that he slammed the door in her face.

* * *

Leah watched as Tony leaned back against the door and rubbed his hands over his face. "Are you okay?" she asked, softly, after a few seconds.

Tony sighed and shook his head. Pulling his hands away from his face, he plastered on a fake smile for her. "I will be. Eventually."

"You could have told her that I was here because you're my protection detail," she offered.

"Yeah, but that wouldn't have been the entire truth," he countered.

She glanced at her arm that was in a cast for another four weeks. It was making her job difficult, but it had not made other pleasurable things difficult. "No, it wouldn't have been the whole truth, but she didn't need to know we're sleeping together."

He licked his lips. "Yes, she did; and maybe I didn't say it for her, maybe I said it for myself. She's right, I haven't been in a serious relationship for a long time and deep down I know it's because I was holding out hope that she'd come around and feel the way I did."

Leah took a small step towards him. "What made you change your mind? I mean... why did you think you wanted to try a relationship with me?"

Tony's smile turned from fake to sad. "Because, you remind me of someone, someone that I loved very, very much and I just... why not, Leah?"

"I'm not that other woman; I can't replace her."

"I know, and I also know that you're very different from her as well. I care about you, Leah. That other woman and Ziva, they're the past."

"Am I the future?" she teased, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Only if you want to be," he said, seriously, closing the small gap between them.

Her fingers gently brushed across his chest. "This may sound crazy, but yes, I want to be your future."

He cupped her chin in his hand. "Why is that crazy?"

Leah chuckled, softly. "Because we've only known each other for a few months and we've only been together for two weeks."

Tony thought about what she said, then sighed. "I've always believed that when it's the right one, you'll just know. Well, I think you're the right woman, Leah, and I just know it. I don't need to think about it or dwell on it."

"My mother used to tell me that dwelling on things was unhealthy," she supplied. "Speaking of my parents, they've been calling, asking to see me."

"Gibbs doesn't want us leaving the apartment unless we're heading over to the NSA or Homeland," he replied.

"They're worried."

"We're all worried."

She wrapped her good arm around his waist and buried her cheek against his chest. He responded by encasing her in his warm embrace, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head.

It had been a nightmare the last two weeks, always looking over their shoulders, but Leah felt better that she wasn't facing this alone.

* * *

"Gibbs!"

He groaned, silently, and kept working on his latest woodworking project. Gibbs was expecting her to show up at some point since the accident two weeks ago; he just wasn't in the mood to deal with her. They were still looking for Bodnar and Parsa and had gotten nowhere yet.

Ziva appeared at the bottom of the basement steps, looking fit to be tied. "Do you know that Tony is sleeping around with that woman from the NSA? I went over there tonight and there she was! They're supposed to working together on the Bodnar case! Not jumping into bed at a moment's notice!"

Gibbs put his tools down. "Miss Dawson is under NCIS protection detail," he informed her, softly.

"Tony didn't even deny it, Gibbs!" Ziva yelled, ignoring him.

"What do you want me to do, Ziva? Go over there and tell him who he can and cannot sleep with?" Gibbs snapped back.

"He could be compromising the case!"

"No more than you showing up at his apartment, or meddling around behind our backs."

She was livid. "So, you are not going to do anything? You are going to let him continue this fling?"

He picked his tools back up and got back to work. "Yes. I interfered once, with EJ, and I inadvertently hurt Tony. I'm not going to do that again."

"But, what about Rule 12!" Ziva gasped.

"Is this what this is all about? You're upset that he wouldn't break Rule 12 for you?" Gibbs asked, harshly.

Ziva clenched her fists. "When my father died, he told me I was not alone, that he would help me get whatever I wanted; now, all of a sudden I am nothing to him, as soon as another skirt came along..."

Gibbs shook his head. "He wasn't going to wait around for you forever, Ziva. Did you ever think he didn't break rule 12 with you out of respect for you? You were grieving the loss of your father; he didn't want to take advantage of you."

"He's making a big mistake," Ziva said before she left.

"Maybe he is," Gibbs said, sharply, "but it's his mistake to make."


	17. Chapter 17

**Warnings:** Spoilers for S10

 **A/N:** I am aiming to post one chapter a week, with posts coming on Sundays for this story. Hope I can keep to this schedule, but work has been crazy and most days I come home and just want to veg on the sofa lol. Enjoy!

 **Guest-** _Thank you! I'm so glad you are enjoying the story! Hope you like this chapter :)_

* * *

Tony _and_ Leah were back in the NCIS bullpen the following day, after being absent from the building for the last two weeks. Nobody else in the building would probably question their return, but Tim did. He was surprised at first, until he saw the deadly looks Ziva was throwing at Tony.

She had been complaining about Tony's absence for the last week, he thought he had talked her out of going over to the SFA's apartment, but apparently he had not. Both Tony and Leah did a good job ignoring Ziva, which, Tim knew was only going to make her angrier. _She hates being ignored..._

 _"_ Agent David _,"_ Gibbs snapped, entering the bullpen. "Director Vance has assigned you to help clean out the evidence locker today."

"This is ridiculous," Ziva argued. "I should be here, investigating a murder case that has been open for months!"

Leah briefly glanced at Tony. Everyone in that bullpen knew that Vance only reassigned Ziiva when new leads had popped up in the case and he needed the team to look into it. Maybe they had finally traced Bodnar...

Gibbs didn't back down. He pointed towards the elevator and told her to report to the evidence locker. Ziva gathered up her things and furiously left the bullpen. When she was gone, Gibbs turned towards the others, "Rumor has it that Bodnar is attempting to get transport out of the States _tonight._ "

"We have agents at every local airport, train station, bus station-he's not getting away, boss," Tony said.

"What if he's not traveling by those means of transportation?" Leah questioned.

"Start looking for boats," Gibbs ordered. "Any kind, too. Bodnar knows we're closing in on him. He's gonna want out fast."

Tony and McGee instantly got to work, but Leah looked, a little timidly at Gibbs. "Agent Gibbs, can I...talk to you... in private for a moment?"

Gibbs gestured towards the elevator. He was a bit concerned. She had not called him _Agent Gibbs_ in months now. Something was clearly bothering her, or she knew something that she did not want the others to know about. She was still NSA and she still had a lot of secrets that made him nervous.

Once the two were in the elevator, Gibbs cut the power. "Talk," he said simply, softly.

Leah shifted about, anxiously, on her feet. "I don't think the attempt on my life in Italy had anything to do with Bodnar. I was...tracking a terrorist named Beham Parsa before the NSA assigned me to this case... he's developed some kind of obsession with me over the years..."

"I know," Gibbs said. "Tony informed me."

"Of course he did," Leah whispered.

"He only did it because he cares about you; he doesn't want to see you get hurt again."

"Or he didn't trust me that I would tell you on my own."

Gibbs wasn't going to argue with her, the fact was, they both had finally come forward with this information. It meant that NCIS could protect Leah from Parsa while hopefully bringing both the terrorist and Bodnar in for justice. "I don't need to know everything, Leah, I trust that Tony can handle your protection detail and you can share whatever information you need to with him."

Leah swallowed the lump in her throat. "I think the cases are connected, Gibbs. I have for a long time; there just hasn't been enough evidence to suggest that my... hunches are true."

He was suddenly encouraged. "Go on."

She took a deep breath. "Eli David forced Parsa's hand in his first attack; it was sloppy, cost him a lot of men and resources. Bodnar did not want Eli to strike a deal with Kazmi. Parsa took out Eli and Kazmi for Bodnar, but Bodnar didn't know he was going to set him up for the fall. Ilan has been trying to clear his name since, but now he's desperate, he needed the money-the diamonds-to travel. Our accident was not a calculated hit. It was an act of desperation."

"Parsa wants you taken out because you're the only one that can find him," Gibbs mused.

"That's my theory," Leah replied.

"Will the NSA grant us access to their investigation?"

"I don't know; I can try."

Gibbs knew that they had too. If they didn't, his team, especially Tony who was in charge of protecting Leah, was in danger. He could not lose another one of them like he had lost Kate. "Tell them it's a matter of life and death over here. I have a team of agents to protect, and you."

Leah felt her throat tighten. If anything happened to Tony-or anyone else for the matter-because of her...she would never forgive herself. "I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs, for bringing you all into this. When I arrived here I had no idea."

He reached out and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Never apologize for doing your job, Leah."

She clumsily nodded her head. "I should get back to work."

"We're going to get Parsa," Gibbs said, firmly. "Not going to give up until we do."

"More people could die along the way," Leah whispered. "Including some of your people."

Gibbs flipped the switch on the elevator and the doors slid open. "Not if I can help it," he mumbled before stalking out.

* * *

Tony and Tim were huddled around the junior agent's computer, painstakingly tracking Bodnar through the city. So far, they had not come up with much, other than a glimpse of him on a security camera from a hotel downtown.

"So um... I think Ziva knows about you and Leah," Tim mumbled.

"Oh, she does," Tony said, with a soft chuckle. "She showed up at my apartment last night. Demanding answers."

Tim looked over his shoulder at his partner. He knew the reasons why Gibbs had kept Tony and Leah glued to the hip, for her obvious safety, but even the team leader was ignoring the fact that Tony was _clearly_ involved with the NSA analyst. He was sure that made Ziva furious. "What did you tell her?"

Tony turned and sat down on the desk, crossing his arms over his chest. "I told her that I didn't care about rule 12 and nothing about the case. As you can imagine that didn't go over well. Ziva wasn't used to hearing the word _no_ growing up with Eli. I'm sure he gave her everything she ever wanted to appease her for being away all the time."

"Does Gibbs know you're breaking rule 12?" Tim asked, even though _he_ knew the answer.

"I'm sure he does now," Tony said with a shrug. "Do you honestly think Ziva left my apartment and went straight home?"

"Good point. She's been through a lot though, Tony, maybe cut her a little slack."

"I've cut her a lot of slack. I could have called my building's security on her last night. I could have called the cops. I only slammed the door in her face."

Tim winced. He wasn't sure when everything had become so unraveled. Maybe after Rivkin, Somalia, and he just refused to acknowledge it. He didn't want to think of his friends having such a falling out like this, but if Ziva continued down this path, he didn't see how any of them could remain friends with her. She was going to do something irrational, he could feel it, and he was scared that she was going to take them down with her.

Leah arrived in the bullpen then, cellphone clutched in her right hand, her eyes were wide not with fear but with anticipation. "Tim, can you trace a phone number for me, even if I'm not talking to the person?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it might take a while, but I can narrow down the location where the call was made."

She scribbled the number down onto a post-it note and handed it to him. "Trace this."

Tony was suddenly suspicious. "What's going on? Did someone call and threaten you?"

"No," Leah replied, steadily. "Bodnar called and asked to meet with me, face to face, _alone._ He gave me an address, I want to make sure he isn't lying."

"Of course he's lying," Tony snapped. "He's Mossad, they lie for a living."

"We've been looking for him at every bus station, train station, with no luck- he told me he was at a pier in Baltimore," Leah said. "He's planning on taking a ship back to the Middle East... but he wanted to see me first."

Tony ground his jaw. "He's not getting on that ship, and he's definitely not meeting with you. Leah, he's luring you into a trap."

Leah threw him a slight glare. "What if he has information on Parsa? I have to take the risk, a lot more lives could be at stake if I don't get that information from him. Besides, I don't think he's going to kill me. He wants me to clear his name. How is he going to do that if he kills me?"

"Do you even understand how dangerous it would be to go meet him, alone?" Tony asked, hotly.

"Yes. I'm not naive," Leah argued.

"Good. Glad we cleared that up."

"Stop being a smart ass."

Tim stood up and looked at his partner. "Tony's right, Leah. Vance and Gibbs are never going to let you meet Bodnar alone. He's going to want us to go with you, and have you wired."

Leah swallowed, anxiously. "We might not have time to approve that operation; it would have to go through Morrow first. Bodnar said his ship is leaving in a couple of hours. Did you find that location yet, Tim?"

He shook his head. "I'm going to need to use MTAC. Maybe you and Tony could go find Gibbs?"

Tony grabbed her arm. "Let's go."

Leah tore herself from his grip. "I don't need you to manhandle me."

"I'm only doing it to make sure you don't disappear on me," Tony said, evenly. "If you promise you are not going to leave this building I won't physically drag you around."

"I don't have a car, remember?" Leah threw at him. "I came here with you, in your rental car, and last I checked you had the keys. So, I'm not going anywhere until we have a solid location on Bodnar."

"You're not going anywhere period," Tony countered as he turned towards leaving the bullpen with Tim. "Let the federal agents handle this."

She set her jaw. "Fine. But I have to call my boss first, you know, the one at Homeland Security?"

He threw his hands up as he walked, gesturing for her to do so, as he pulled out his own phone to call Gibbs. "We'll meet you in MTAC then."

Tony and Tim took the stairs, two at a time, neither of them paying attention to her; which was their first mistake. They swiftly crossed the balcony towards MTAC. Leah waited until the two men were inside, then she reached into Tony's bag, grabbed the keys to his rental car, and slipped out of the bullpen.


	18. Chapter 18

**Warnings** : Spoilers for S10

 **A/N:** I apologize that I didn't stick to updating once a week on Sunday. I have been very busy lately and suffering from a sore back, so I haven't had time or desire to write much. Hope you enjoy this chapter even if it is a bit late ;)

* * *

Leah had learned a lot from Tony about working out in the field, especially undercover. One, she had to blend in, so she changed out of her pantsuit and into a pair of sneakers, cargo pants, a thin cotton hoodie and a denim jacket-this way she blended in with the dock workers and sailors.

Parking the rental car out of view, Leah sat there for a moment or two, pondering what she was doing. She had her orders, she had to follow them, but it was probably going to cost her the relationship she had built with Tony. Another man sacrificed because of her job...

Taking a deep breath, Leah opened the door to the small sedan and stepped out in the cool, damp Baltimore air. She pulled her jacket close to her body with her good hand.

Across the pier workers loaded and unloaded large cargo ships, no one giving her a second glance as she walked towards the ship Bodnar had told her to meet him on. She had hated lying to Tony and Tim, but Director Morrow wanted them off the trail while she did this. Was it risky? Yes. But so wasn't every other aspect of her job and as far as the man that wanted her dead, he believed her to be behind the safe, confined walls of NCIS headquarters. T _ony is going to blow a gasket when he finds out that it was Morrow that ordered me here..._

Leah made it to the boarding ramp and as she stepped on board, a voice cut through the thick fog.

"Ah, you made it. Welcome," Ilan Bodnar greeted. "Did you come alone like I requested?"

"Yes," Leah replied. "Were you watching me this whole time?"

Ilan smiled. "Yes. You are the only woman in hundreds of feet here. The workers might not have noticed you, too busy loading the ships... but I did. Come aboard, get warm. We can chat over some tea."

Leah followed him into the ship, glancing over her shoulder half-expecting to see Tony charging after her. "I'd rather not have tea. How do I know you haven't laced it with something?"

He chuckled and stepped into the galley. "What would I gain from killing you? Leah, you are the only one that can clear my name."

She watched him pour the tea into two small tea cups. "I need more than your word, Ilan. I need _proof_ that you were not involved in Eli David and Jackie Vance's deaths."

"You have seen all my bank accounts, all my travel plans," Ilan said, stepping out of the galley with the tea. "You know that I was not in Washington the night Eli died, you also know that I did not pay any money to the man that had killed him."

"It was your middle name on the bank account," Leah argued. "Are you suggesting that someone hacked you and set you up to take the fall?"

"That is precisely what I am suggesting."

"That's insane."

Ilan handed her a tea cup. "If it is so insane, why are you here?"

Leah swallowed the lump in her throat. "I want Parsa. If you give me him, I can clear your name."

He was silent for a moment, and then a sly grin crossed his face. "You drive a hard bargain. Did you learn your negotiating tactics from you father?"

She pursed her lips. "It doesn't matter where I learned them. If you want me to clear your name, then you're going to have to help me arrest Parsa."

"I have the information you need," Ilan said, "back in Israel."

"Well, how do you propose I get that?" Leah asked.

"Return with me, to Israel. I will give you everything I have. You can call your director from there."

"Ilan, I can't go to Israel. NCIS has no idea what I'm doing right now..."

He laughed and drank his tea. "Are you afraid what your new boyfriend is going to think? Will Agent DiNozzo track you down to the ends of the Earth if you disappear to Israel with me for a few days?"

She put her tea cup down on the deck railing. "Yes," Leah said, honestly, "he will and not because he has feelings for me, but because his job is to protect me."

Ilan glance at her, seriously, "Then I will tell him I will do my best to keep you safe in Israel."

Leah frowned. Somehow she didn't think that would be enough to appease Tony. Before she could tell him that, she heard the gun shot, saw his eyes grow wide with shock, anger, and eventually betrayal as the bullet tore through his shoulder.

"You!" He raged. "You led them here to me!"

"No!" She gasped, shaking her head as another shot rang out, this time hitting him in the other shoulder. "No one knew I was coming here but Director Morrow!"

Ilan stumbled around the deck, knocking the tea over, spilling it everywhere. Leah watched as the amber liquid mixed with his blood already on the deck. He growled something to her in hebrew before attempting to make an escape.

Leah wanted to follow him. She had made it to the steps leading up to the next deck when she felt cold metal meet the back of her head. She saw a bright flash of white light before everything else went dark.

* * *

Tony furiously parked the Charger next to his rental car. Tim had tracked her down when they realized-fifteen minutes too late-that Leah had disappeared. Gibbs and Vance had immediately sent them after her while they informed Tom Morrow.

 _I knew she was going to do this,_ Tony thought as he slammed the door to the car shut. "I should have dragged her to MTAC," he grumbled, as he pulled out his cellphone and flashed the light inside the car. It was empty. "She's going to get herself killed running around unarmed like this."

Tim glanced at his partner, sternly. "Tony. This isn't your fault. Okay? She made her own choices and hopefully, we find her before anything happens to her."

"What made her think she could go after Bodnar on her own?" Tony snapped.

"I don't know. We can ask her when we find her," Tim said, firmly.

Tony wished he had Tim's confidence, however, they weren't one-hundred percent sure what ship Bodnar was one. They had a good idea, but if they got it wrong, there were dozens of ships in the pier that they would have to search-all without a warrant. _Well, we have an emergency situation here... a Senator's daughter is in danger... she could be dead..._

Suddenly a gunshot rung out across the pier. Tony and Tim sprinted into action, pulling their own weapons as the pier came alive with panic and confusion. A cold dread gripped Tony as he ran towards the ship where the gun shot had come from; it turned to fear when the second shot rang out. _Dear God, please, I do not want to have to tell a United States Senator that I failed to protect his daughter!_

If Bodnar had killed Leah, Tony knew that there would be hell to pay-perhaps even international hell because there would be no covering up the murder of a senator's daughter.

Both agents were startled as they ascended the ramp and a body came flying over the edge, crashing to the crates below. Blinking the shock away, Tony glanced down to see who had fallen. "Tim," he said, hoarsely. "Look."

Tim was already looking and he felt a knot forming in his stomach. "Yeah," he whispered, gazing at the lifeless eyes of the body of Ilan Bodnar sprawled on the crates. "We better call Gibbs."

Tony nodded, solemnly, but then said, "We need to find Leah first. Something tells me _she_ didn't push him. She's feisty, but I don't think she's strong enough to take Bodnar down; and she definitely didn't have the gun."

"Maybe she didn't act alone," Tim surmised as the pair stepped onto the cargo ship. "Or it was just another lie."

"She didn't lie about that," Tony said, softly, cautiously peering around as they made sure it was safe. "I took her to the firing range."

"Ok, if she didn't kill him... who did?"

There was no answer. Tony had spotted Leah, face down against a set of stairs. He quickly holstered his gun and rushed to her. Gently, he cradled her neck and rolled her over onto her back. "She's still breathing," he sighed in relief. "Leah? Can you hear me?"

Tony propped her up, carefully when she started to stir. "Leah, take it easy. You've been hit on the back of the head and taken a nasty fall. But I need you to tell me everything."

Leah opened her eyes and glanced at the two agents in confusion for a moment, before everything began to come back to her. "Someone shot Bodnar. Twice. I...I didn't see who did it... the shooter must have knocked me out."

"Is the shooter still on the ship?"

"I don't know."

"You shouldn't have gone off on your own," Tony scolded her. "I told you it was dangerous."

"But..."

"Don't argue with me! Do you think Director Morrow is going to be happy with this stunt?"

Leah bit her bottom lip, whether it was to stop herself from yelling back at him or to stop herself from crying, neither federal agent could tell.

Tim put his own weapon away and pulled out his cell phone. "I'll call an ambulance and then Gibbs," he said, glancing around. He didn't see a gun, or any indication that Leah had been the one to fire the weapon they heard. It looks like Tony had been right; there had been a third person involved.

* * *

Gibbs had already been on his way to the pier when Tim called. He pulled the car up and parked it, grabbing his cap before stepping out. The area was flooded with law enforcement and the team leader knew he was walking into a giant mess.

He immediately caught the eye of Tony, who was standing besides an EMT examining Leah. The younger man looked ready to pounce, his shoulders were stiff, his jaw was clenched. Gibbs sighed... _he's not going to like what I have to say._

"Hey boss," Tony drawled when Gibbs joined them.

"Update," Gibbs quietly ordered.

"Miss Dawson here suffered a mild concussion when our suspect whacked her on the back of the head," Tony snapped, causing Leah to flinch. "After he shot Bodnar, twice and then killed him. Baltimore medical examiner is looking at the body now; Tim contacted Homeland Security, we're just waiting for proper authorization to have one of their medical examiners take over."

Gibbs glanced, briefly, at Leah, then back at Tony. "Any leads?" he asked, even though he was sure Tony did not have an answer.

Tony shook his head. "He got away before Tim or I could catch up to him. We had someone else to tend too."

Leah looked at Gibbs, apologetically. Gibbs didn't address it. Instead, he cleared his throat. "Tim taking statements?"

"Yeah. You're awfully calm, boss."

"What good is getting angry gonna do?"

"If I had done what Leah just did-gone off on my own-you'd be reading me the riot act!"

Gibbs did not want to get the middle of whatever fight was probably going to happen between Leah and Tony, but it wasn't fair to Leah to keep silent. "I wouldn't have yelled at you for following orders."

Tony straightened his shoulders, his jaw still clenched. "Orders? What orders are you talking about?"

Leah whispered, "Director Morrow ordered me to meet with Bodnar alone."

"What? Is he crazy?"

"There were three undercover Homeland Security agents for my protection."

"So what, Tim and I couldn't do that?"

Gibbs shifted, slightly, on his feet. "Director Morrow thought it was better to have his guys on the ground."

Tony glared at Gibbs. "For what reason?"

"You're too personally involved," Leah answered, honestly.

"You _told_ him?" Tony spat, furiously.

"He asked when I went over to debrief him a week ago," she countered. "I wasn't going to lie. He doesn't care about that, he just thought it would compromise this meeting. He didn't want you doing something reckless, which I found out your team has a reputation of being at times."

Tony's jaw twitched, signaling that he was very angry. "I'm gonna go help Tim," he snapped before storming off.

Gibbs shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and turned to face Leah. "Any theories?"

Leah nodded. "The undercover agents saw two other people board the ship after me. One was a male, one was a female. They didn't see them leave; they were coming to help me when Tony and Tim arrived."

"One of them killed Bodnar."

"That's the theory."

"I'll have Tony go to the hospital with you," Gibbs said. "I want to speak to the Homeland agents."

"Are you sure Tony is the best person to come with me right now? He's pretty angry," Leah pointed out.

"He's just going to have to get over it," Gibbs snapped, walking away to find his agents. They had bigger problems than Tony's bruised ego.


	19. Chapter 19

**Warnings:** Spoilers for s10, implied sexual situation

 **A/N:** Sorry, once again, for the delay. I didn't read through this a second time after I first edited it, so if you catch a mistake, just send me a PM and I'll fix it. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Leah realized she had spent more time at the hospital in the last few weeks than she ever had in her entire life. If Tony wasn't so furious with her as he drove them back to his apartment, she might have teased him about it. She had known him long enough to know now was not the time to tease him. "I'm sorry," she offered up instead. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I had orders... but I...I couldn't."

Tony clutched the steering wheel and refused to look at her. "You had orders; you had to follow them. Who am I to balk in the face of orders that put you in a lot of danger?"

"I wasn't in danger," Leah argued. "I had three undercover agents watching me."

"Yeah? No danger?" Tony snapped. "Then why did you end up on the deck with a mild concussion?"

She looked out the window at the passing buildings. "I wanted to tell you. I really did, Tony."

His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. "Morrow ordered you not too."

Leah rested her head against the cool glass. "Morrow ordered me not too. He felt that NCIS was already dangerously close to compromising the case before I told him about our relationship."

Tony was still mad, not necessarily at her, but at Morrow, at the person that had hurt her-at the damn agents who were supposed to be protecting her and failed. "Those agents should have been closer to you. Maybe you weren't the target, but we can't be sure."

"It was Bodnar that ended up dead not me."

"Doesn't matter; those agents did a crappy job."

She knew this wasn't so much about her following orders, it was more about his intense desire to protect her. "Tony..."

He cut her off. "Don't _Tony_ me."

For the remainder of the ride they were silent. Tony pulled the car into the dark, silent parking lot at his apartment building and shut it down. "I could have lost you," he whispered, breaking the intense silence. "I could have lost you before I've even figured out what you mean to me."

A lump formed in her throat; Leah turned slightly to face him. "I never wanted to hurt you, Tony. I know... I know I've probably lost your trust in me and... therefore have effectively ended our relationship..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tony snapped. "You think I'm going to walk away because of this?"

"I lied to you," Leah countered.

"Because you were _ordered_ too; not because you _wanted_ too!"

"So... you're not going to end our relationship?"

Tony grasped her face between his hands, studying every feature on her face, intensely. "No," he said, huskily, "I'm not going to end this. I'm not about to throw away a woman I care deeply about over orders."

Leah opened her mouth to say something but he silence her with a kiss. She forgot what they were arguing about and melted into his embrace. The shock that he wasn't going to walk away, like so many other men had before, wore off, immediately. "Why?" she asked, softly when they broke apart.

He was confused. "Why what?"

She blinked back a few tears. "Why me?"

"Because... you're smart, beautiful, loving... feisty," Tony answered. "What man broke you heart that you're so insecure, Leah?"

"I was always told... my job was more important then them," Leah whispered. "I was married to my work."

"Your passion for your job is one thing that attracts me to you."

Leah threw herself into his arms, feeling him tighten his hold on her. "No one has ever loved that about me; no one. As much as I love my parents, even they think I work too much, too hard."

Tony kissed her temple, slightly shaken by her words. _No one has ever loved that about me._ Loved. Was he in love her? It was possible. He knew he didn't want to let her go, even if she had gone behind his back about her orders from Morrow. Chances are, he would have done the same thing, if it meant protecting her.

* * *

Gibbs opened the door to Leon Vance's office hours later and stepped inside. "Homeland has the body," he announced, casually. "They said they would let us know if they find anything."

Vance took a deep breath. He felt very little relief that the man accused of murdering his wife was dead; he did not feel any sense of justice. "Where's Miss Dawson now?"

"Tony took her back to his place."

"Director Morrow know how pissed we are that he put her up to that little stunt?"

The team leader smiled, cheekily. "I was going to leave that up to you, Leon," Gibbs said.

The NCIS Director frowned. "How nice of you."

Gibbs chuckled as he left the office. "Come on, Leon, we both know you're better at stuff like that than I am."

Vance grunted but didn't argue because he knew, Gibbs was right.

* * *

"I can't clean up the pier's security footage anymore," Abby informed Gibbs and Tim. "There's no way to tell if it was Ziva or some other woman."

"Did you check our cameras?" Gibbs asked. "Did Ziva leave around the same time as Leah?"

Abby shook her head. "Ziva left two hours before Leah did. It doesn't look like she followed Leah to that pier, and I didn't spot her car or a company car anywhere on that footage; not until Tony and Tim showed up did another car besides Leah's rental appear. Sorry I can't give you anymore, Gibbs."

Tim swallowed the bile in his throat. "That doesn't necessarily clear her, boss. It also doesn't mean she killed him since, well, it's all circumstantial. None of that would ever hold up in court."

Gibbs looked at his watch. If Ziva was going to show up to work, she'd be strolling in at any moment. If she was late... well... that pretty much gave him the answer he was seeking. "Keep digging. I want to make sure NCIS nose is clean of this and if it isn't, I want to clean it up quick."

"DiNozzo called for an update," Tim informed the team leader. "What should I tell him?"

"Tell him we don't know anymore than he does," Gibbs said with shrug.

"Huh?"

"McGee, he's going to question if Ziva was there once Leah told him there was a female."

Abby and Tim watched Gibbs leave the lab. When he was gone, Abby let out a soft sigh. "You know, a few months ago I wouldn't think Ziva would go off and murder Bodnar before we arrested him."

Tim glanced at her, tired, weary. "What made you change your mind?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Her instance to work this case; the fact that she went behind our backs and tracked Bodnar to Europe. If Tony hadn't found her, you know she was going to go off to Rome herself."

He frowned. There was no denying that if Ziva's plans had not been foiled she would have disappeared to Europe. She never intended to bring the information forward to Leah and the rest of the team. Tim could easily see her following Leah and killing Bodnar; he could easily see her hurting Leah considering how jealous she was. "I'm going to go see if I can any clues as to who might have followed Leah to that pier. Call me when you get the ballistics back, okay?"

"You'll be the first to know... well, after Gibbs of course," Abby replied with a slight smile.

"Thanks," Tim said with a chuckle as he headed towards the elevator.

Upstairs, he was partially relieved to find Ziva at her desk. "Good morning."

Ziva looked up. "Good morning. You look as if you have been here all night."

 _I have,_ Tim thought. "Didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Is that why Tony is so late?"

"Ah, I think he's in the building."

"I do not see his gear. Or Leah's. They have been joined at the hip since Europe."

Tim sat down at his desk and turned his computer on. He didn't want to have this conversation. It felt like they were having this conversation since Tony and Leah had returned from Europe. "Maybe their over at Homeland."

Ziva brushed her behind her shoulder. "Hopefully to return Leah back to NSA and everything back to normal here," she muttered under her breath."

"You know, Ziva, you don't ear jealousy very well," Tim snapped. He had _way_ too much work today to deal with this.

"Jealousy? Tony can do so much better than a mousy NSA analyst," Ziva snapped back. "And why are you so cranky?"

"I had very little sleep and have a lot of work to do."

"I can help with the work. I have nothing to do but go back to the evidence locker."

"You didn't finish yesterday?"

"There is a lot of evidence down there to go through."

Immediately Tim felt suspicious. She was playing things a little _too_ casual. He didn't get to respond because his cell phone. Glancing down he saw who it was from, grabbed the phone and disappeared. "Delilah," he answered in a hushed tone, "do you have something for me?"

* * *

Leah woke up, alone, in Tony's bed. He had opted to sleep on the sofa. Rolling over onto her back, Leah threw her arm over her face, blocking out the sunlight. She had really messed up this time. Groaning, Leah sat up, deciding that she should shower and get ready; she was going to have to face the music with Director Morrow, and she might as well just get it over with.

Tony exited the bathroom then, wearing nothing but his bathrobe and drying his hair with a towel. "You father called," he said, coldly. "He isn't too happy with you either. Something about not having the ability to lay low."

"How did my father find out?" Leah snapped.

"Really? He's a senator. He probably knew the moment you snuck off," Tony argued.

"So, you're still mad at me, huh?"

"Yes, I'm mad."

She slid off the bed and went to the dresser to find her clothes. Leah didn't know what he wanted her to do, or say, she had already apologized. "I'm going to take a shower."

He suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, kissing her hard. "I'm mad," he whispered, breaking them apart, "because I could have lost you. I'm not mad at you, not anymore, not when I realized that losing you terrified me."

Leah was still wrapping her brain around the amazing kiss when he scooped her up, gently laid her down on the bed. "Tony...I..."

Tony brought a finger to her lips. "Shhh...no talking."

It became obvious that he wasn't going to let her talk anyways, even if she wanted too. His lips were on hers again, his hands were pulling at her loose clothing, tossing it across the room. Leah wrapped her good arm around his neck and opened her to his, melting into him. When they broke apart, she smiled, "Okay, no more talking," she whispered before she tugged his bathrobe open. After that, all talking ceased.


	20. Chapter 20

**Warnings:** Spoilers for S10

 **A/N:** I'm sorry that I haven't been able to keep up with the every Sunday post I promised. I try to get my work up as soon as I finish, which lately has been a struggle with real life things getting in the way. I know my other stories have suffered, hell I haven't touched "Held" in over two years, but right now I can only focus on one story at a time, and this is it. I promise I will get back to the other two stories, eventually. I don't care if it takes me years to finish, I will finish lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for reading!

 **Guest 1-** _you'll see if Ziva killed him or not... I don't want to give too much away! thanks for reading!_

 **Guest 2 _-_** _yes, Ziva is a snot when it comes to Tony dating and being with other women. I'm glad you love Tony and Leah together, they're my OTP lol._

* * *

"You know," Leah said, as she laid sprawled out on Tony's chest, "we need to get you a larger bed."

"What?" Tony asked, innocently, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "You don't like the intimacy after sex?"

She laughed. "I do like it, it's just... well, a twin bed... it's a little cramped... and it reminds me of college. Doesn't it remind you of college, you know sneaking that person into your dorm room and sleeping together on that tiny, extra-long twin?"

He stroked her bare back. "Guess the small space didn't bother me; I enjoyed what was happening in that small space more. But if you think I need a bigger bed... I can always look into getting one."

Leah rolled over and glanced up at him, with a gentle smile. "Look at you...growing up."

Tony chuckled. "A lot of people would say it's about time and they'd be right."

"Why do you have a twin bed? It doesn't match the playboy persona you have at NCIS."

"I didn't need anything larger. I never brought women home. I always went to their places."

His cell phone rang in the other room. Tony groaned. He really didn't want to get up from this spot. He liked just holding her, and if he was honest, he was almost ready for round two... Leah suddenly slipped off of him and reached for her clothes scattered on the floor. "Where are you going?"

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "To shower. I'm assuming that's Gibbs calling looking for us. We can't lay in bed all day; we do have work to do." _And Director Morrow is going to want to talk to me._

Tony ran his tongue over his lips. "Could just be Gibbs checking in on us, to make sure we're fine. Why don't you at least _entertain_ the idea of spending the day in bed while you take a shower, okay?"

Leah laughed, and shook her head. "You're insatiable, you know that, Agent DiNozzo?"

"Only when it comes to you, Miss Dawson."

"I'm going in the shower; do not follow me."

If his phone was not ringing, again, Tony would have disobeyed those orders. Besides, he was the one technically in charge... "Yeah, Tim," he said when finally answered his phone.

Tim sounded annoyed. " _What happened to rule 3?"_

Tony chuckled. "Nothing. Beautiful, naked women come before rule 3."

" _I"m sorry I asked."_

"Why are you calling in the first place?"

Tim took a deep breath. " _My friend over at the D.O.D found something for me. I think you and Leah are going to want to see it_."

Tony quirked an eyebrow. "Is this friend a woman?"

" _Does your brain automatically go to a dirty place?_ "

"It is a woman, and I bet she's hot!"

" _I don't have time for this, Tony. Can you be serious for five minutes?"_

"Fine, five minutes-go."

Tim took a deep breath. " _My friend at the D.O.D was able to track Mossad movements, here, in D.C. Two officers are currently in town, and it's suspected that they were sent by Director Elbaz to take out Bodnar."_

Tony pursed his lips. This cast some serious doubt on any theories the team had come up with since last night, but it didn't necessarily get Ziva off the hook. "Have you informed Gibbs? He's going to want to know this."

" _He's meeting with Vance at the moment."_

"Give me an hour and I'll be in."

 _"What about Leah?"_

"She's just going to have to come with me." _I'm not letting her out of my sight, not with Mossad in town._

* * *

Gibbs dropped a bag of bagels on top of Tony's desk and then deposited the tray of coffees. "Eat and drink up; we have a long day a head of us."

Tony took a bagel and a coffee. "What did Vance say about Mossad being in town?"

"Apparently, Director Elbaz never left," Gibbs reported. "She's been here the whole time. I think she even flew underneath the radar of Homeland."

"Director Morrow didn't mention her at all," Leah confessed. "In fact, he didn't mention Mossad. Is it possible one of their agents killed Bodnar last night?"

The three agents exchanged glances, Leah wasn't sure if she had something to offend them, until Tony finally spoke up, "Yeah... it's possible that Mossad was there last night. It wouldn't be the first time that they've carried out rogue operations here in D.C."

Leah shifted, uneasily on her feet. Maybe Bodnar's death wasn't her fault after all. "We should inform Director Morrow. Homeland should know if Mossad is operating illegally here in Washington."

Gibbs sipped his coffee. "Vance was giving Tom a call. He said he'd let me know how it went. For now, our job is to find out how the killer located Bodnar. When you left, did you notice if anyone was following you?"

"No," Leah said with a shake of her, "but I wasn't exactly looking for someone following me."

"What about on the ship? Anything out of place?" Tony questioned.

"Bodnar made me tea," Leah said with a shrug.

"This is why one of us needed to be with you," the SFA snapped at her. "We would have noticed things you've obviously missed."

Leah narrowed her blue eyes on him. "Who says I missed something? What about the the three trained NSA agents? None of them noticed anything either. You're a great agent, Tony, but cut it out with the arrogance just because you're pissed I didn't let you know my orders."

Tony was about to say something when Gibbs slapped on the back of the head, softly, but enough to get him to stop and walk away, grumbling. The team leader watched him for a moment. Leah was right; but he wasn't about to bruise Tony's ego anymore. "Those agents didn't see anything other than normal activity. They were surprised when the gunshots went off just as much as you and Tim were, just as much as Leah was. And before you argue they had no idea if it was Bodnar firing at Leah... they had night vision scopes, they could see everything going on with her and Bodnar. Our shooter was smart enough to blend in with the crew of the ship."

"Homeland was detaining the crew for questioning," Tim said.

"Great, but if they don't have the right paperwork to be here or work here, well... they aren't going to talk," Leah said.

"Better than nothing I suppose," the junior replied with a slight shrug.

"What about the D.O.D?" Tony responded. "What did your lady friend have to say?"

Tim blushed. "She said she was looking into a few things for me; she'll call if she has more."

Tony tossed a playful grin at him; both Gibbs and Leah smacked him in the arm before he could unleash some snarky comment. "Hey!" he protested, half-heartedly, "I wasn't going to say anything."

Gibbs ignored him, turning towards Tim. "How long does she think it will take to get your that information? I'm not sure how long Homeland can detain that crew or hoe long Vance can distract Elbaz into staying here in the States."

"She said as soon as she knew the information, she'd tell me," Tim replied with a wince. "I know that's not what you want to hear, boss."

"It's better than nothing, like you said," Gibbs replied with another sip of his coffee. "If we don't hear anything by lunch, we can pay the D.O.D a visit."

"What do you want me to do, boss?" Tony asked.

"You?" the team leader said, glancing at Leah, "Make sure _she_ doesn't escape this building again."

Leah wanted to argue but she had learned better over the course of her time at NCIS; you did not argue with Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Tony was more than happy to agree to those orders. "On it boss; she doesn't leave my sight. Where I go, she goes."

"Just so we're clear," Leah snapped, "that excludes the restroom."

"Why? Not like you haven't seen..."

"TONY!"

He innocently drank his coffee. Tony sat down at his desk and started his computer up. If he was going to be in charge to making sure Leah stayed out of trouble and in the building, he was going to get caught up on his paperwork.

She side-eyed him as she made her way to her own desk. Leah put her coffee down and fished her laptop out of her bag. "Am I allowed to make a phone call?" she directed the question towards Gibbs. "Or does my watch-dog have to approve _who_ I'm calling first?"

Gibbs chuckled. He liked her sass. "You're allowed a phone call. I'm sure Director Morrow wants you to check in with him."

Leah grabbed her cellphone and headed towards a private area to make the phone call, rolling her eyes when Tony jumped up to follow her.

"Boss," Tim said when the pair was gone, "what about Ziva? She's going to start to get suspicious that we keep sending her on pointless assignments."

"Just keep telling her what you've been telling her," Gibbs replied, glancing up towards the catwalk when he noticed Vance. "If she gives you a problem, send her to me."

* * *

Vance waited until Gibbs got to the top of the steps. "Orli is gone; chances are so are her agents."

Gibbs frowned and clutched his coffee cup. He knew they hadn't moved faster enough, not that they could move fast enough. It hadn't been brought to their attention that Mossad was in town until hours after Bodnar had been killed. "What does Morrow suggest we do now?"

"Is there a chance that Ms. David did this?" Vance asked, briefly glancing at the former Mossad agent's empty desk.

"Right now it's all circumstantial. She isn't acting like she even knows Bodnar is dead," Gibbs replied.

"She's a trained killer; also trained to lie."

"Yeah, I know, Leon."

Vance took a deep breath, praying that Ziva wasn't involved in all this. Already her actions had made NCIS look bad, he didn't need to be cleaning up another mess. "I want to speak to Miss Dawson when she has a free moment."

Gibbs sipped his coffee. "She didn't see anything, Leon. How would she? She isn't a trained federal agent, she wasn't look for signs that something was amiss. Bodnar didn't even notice until it was too late. According to Leah, he thought she had brought the killer to him."

"She did, however inadvertently it was," Leon replied.

"Are you worried she could be placed under investigation?" Gibbs asked.

"The possibility has crossed my mind. Her actions could be considered negligent."

"It's a weak case, Leon."

Vance wouldn't argue that, but Bodnar's death was going to have international repercussions, the Department of Justice was going to be looking for a scapegoat to show that they took Bodnar's death seriously... Leah was the perfect match. "Morrow already told me the D.O.J is looking to make examples; they have to save face."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "Save face on what? If Mossad did this, Leah shouldn't be charged with anything. Actually, even if Mossad did it, Leah shouldn't be charged. She was _ordered_ to meet with Bodnar."

The NCIS Director rocked back on his heels. "But she'll testify that she wasn't looking for anyone following her, that she didn't make sure she was followed. This case, in the hands of a hotshot, young lawyer at the D.O.J, is going to cause headaches for Homeland and NSA. Leah might not be convicted but she might have to give up her job, her security clearance. Just... be prepared, Jethro."

Scowling, the MCRT leader headed back to the bullpen. "I'm prepared, Leon. I just hope the Department of Justice isn't stupid enough to try and make a scapegoat out of a United States Senator's daughter; that could end badly for them-not Leah."


	21. Chapter 21

**Warnings:** Spoilers for S10

 **A/N:** Sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

Tony saw the defeated look in Leah's eyes when she returned to her desk. "Did the phone call with Director Morrow not go so well?" he asked, twirling his pen between his fingers. He saw Tim glance up and look in her direction, with concern.

Leah chewed on her bottom lip. "He isn't mad at me; he understands that what happened was out of my control, and that he has agents looking into how the killer knew where to find Bodnar."

"So...what's wrong?" Tony inquired.

"My father," Leah answered, sitting down at her desk. She buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Apparently, he asked Director Morrow to pull me."

"How did he find out so fast?" Tim asked.

She looked up at him with an incredulous look on her face. "He's a United States Senator... believe me, they have ways of finding things out. Director Morrow told my father that he would consider pulling me but he hasn't made up his mind yet."

He stood up and moved towards her desk. Tony reached out and gently massaged her shoulder. "Leah, even if Morrow pulls you from this case because of your father, it doesn't undermine the job you've done. He just wants to keep you safe."

Leah looked up at him and blinked back some tears. What was wrong with her? _Lack of sleep,_ she told herself, wiping the tears away. "Anything happen while I was away on the phone?"

Tony smiled, slightly. "Gibbs stormed out of here. But that happens on a daily basis... so I'm not sure if that's _news_ or not."

"Where do you think he was going?"

"My guess, mid-morning, more coffee."

"Should have told him to bring back alcohol," Leah mumbled, rubbing her temple.

"Don't worry," Tony said with a smile, "I'll get you good and drunk tonight."

"Normally, I'm not such an easy girl... but tonight I think I can be... for you."

"You're full of surprises, you know that?"

Leah smiled, sadly. Even if it was only a few moments, she did feel better. She didn't know how Tony managed to do that, to get her to focus on something else other than her job for a few seconds. It was like he knew how to distract her from her hyper-focused side, pull her back when she was on the edge.

Tony was suddenly close to her, sitting on the edge of her desk. Softly, he reached out and ran his thumb along her cheek. "It's going to be fine," he assured her. "Everything is going to eventually blow over, okay?"

She wasn't so sure about that; Morrow had seemed worried. Leah offered a sad smile to him, and simply nodded her head. It wasn't worth it getting him worked up.

He took her hand, brought it to his lips and left a chaste kiss on her knuckles. Tony got up and went back to his desk. If he was going to keep his team, and Leah, out of jail, he had a lot of work to do.

* * *

Tom Morrow wasn't surprised that Gibbs showed up. He'd been expecting it if he was honest. "Jethro."

Gibbs brushed him off. "Are you aware that the Department of Justice might be coming after Leah Dawson?"

"I am very much aware," Morrow replied. "A case against her will never hold."

"Oh? Really? You don't think some hot shot lawyer wouldn't _love_ to nail her ass to the wall for this?" Gibbs snapped.

"You haven't met her father, Jethro. She isn't going to jail for a damn thing."

"And my team?"

Morrow's brow furrowed. "As far as I know, your team didn't do anything wrong. Agent DiNozzo and Agent McGee were exceptional in their help according to Miss Dawson, unless there is something you know that you're not telling me..."

Gibbs clenched his fists. "Security footage showed a woman going onto that ship right before Bodnar was killed. I know your people are still working on the forensics, but if that bullet comes back from Ziva's gun..."

"She'll be arrested, Jethro. You know how I feel about her employment at NCIS."

"Before her father was killed, she was an asset to my team."

His eyebrows shot up. Morrow knew all about Ziva's time at NCIS, he knew that she was planted there by Eli David, that she used her friendship with Jenny Shepard to get in, and continued to use her spy knowledge to say. It had nearly blown up, no it _had_ blown up four years ago when Michael Rivkin came to Washington. Morrow wondered what Gibbs would have thought of Ziva if Rivkin had killed Tony DiNozzo. "I need your word that you're not going to interfere with any investigation, Jethro."

The former marine's nostrils flared. "You put my team in the middle of this by sending Leah Dawson to us. I could have lost my best agent because of this damn investigation that _she_ never should have been leading!"

Morrow knew that Leah's authority over Gibbs was always going to be an issue; the man hated giving up control. "We put our best analyst on the case, Agent DiNozzo knew the dangers going to Europe with her... he could have declined."

"Cut the crap, Tom, " Gibbs snapped. "I know why she was put on this case. Benham Parsa put a hit on her and the senator. This was done for national security measures and not because you thought she was the best one for the job. If Parsa hadn't be gunning for her, she'd still be working that case."

"Regardless of my initial intentions, Jethro, she is still highly qualified to lead the Bodnar case," Morrow argued.

"Yeah? Why did you send an analyst, who has no field training, to meet with Bodnar last night?"

"I had three agents undercover watching her. Bodnar would only speak to her."

Gibbs clenched his fists. "Did the CIA order you to send her?" _This reeks of the CIA getting involved._

Morrow shook his head. "No."

"Are you working with the CIA on this case?" Gibbs inquired.

"Jethro, we could be here all day with your questions," Morrow answered. "I suggest that you head back to NCIS. I'm sure you work to do."

Frustrated, Gibbs turned angrily on his heel and stormed out of Morrow's office. He walked several feet to the elevator, got inside, and hit the button for the ground floor. Once the elevator was on its way, he pulled out his cell phone and called McGee. "I need you to do something," he ordered the junior agent, "find out _who_ Leah was really working for." _I'm not about to let this go, not if it protects my team._

* * *

Tony entered the staff lounge to make a pot off coffee and saw Ziva eating her lunch at a near by table. "Where have you been hiding all day?" he asked, starting the coffee pot up.

Ziva furrowed her brow in frustration. "In the evidence locker, just like yesterday. Until Miss Dawson goes back to the NSA I'm stuck there. Director Vance seems determined to keep me away from my real job."

"He's only looking out for you," Tony replied, leaning back against the counter.

"I can take care of myself," Ziva snapped, rising from the table and going to throw out her lunch.

The SFA eyed her, searching her face for some kind of sign that she had been at the docks last night or if she had no idea that Bodnar was dead. "You realize that your father isn't alive anymore to keep you out of jail; if you're hiding something from us..."

She spun on her heel and glared at him. "I gave you everything I had on Bodnar, and you still didn't arrest him in Berlin! That's what you get for taking _her_ with you. And since I'm being denied access to this case, I have no idea where he is now. You once told me that you wanted whatever I wanted, well, Tony, what happened to wanting revenge? Because you have denied me that opportunity."

Tony shook his head. "Revenge isn't going to change anything. It will not bring your father back, or Ari, or your mother. It will not bring Tali back. You've been in Mossad looking for revenge your whole life. What has it really gotten you?"

Ziva scowled. "Looks like your coffee is ready. You better hurry and get back to the princess before she realizes you are gone.I am sure she had a million meaningless tasks for you to complete."

He bristled as she walked away. He was not Leah's lap dog, and Leah certainly didn't rule over him like a princess. Tony turned around and poured himself a cup of coffee. _When this is done... ask for a transfer,_ he told himself, and then was startled by that thought. A transfer? He'd worked hard over the years to get where he was at NCIS... why would he transfer, possibly sacrificing everything he had worked for?

 _Because nothing will be the same with Ziva once this all over; she will be a_ _thorn in your side as long as your with Leah._ Tony sighed and fixed his coffee. If he wanted his relationship with Leah to last beyond this case... then he was going to have to make some changes; both personal and professional.


	22. Chapter 22

**Warnings:** Spoilers for S10

 **A/N:** This is a pretty long update, and I think I caught most typos/mistakes, but if I didn't please feel free to PM me so I can fix them :) Enjoy!

* * *

Things were still tense around NCIS weeks after Bodnar had been killed. Leah spent most of her days at the NSA, only stopping by for any updates NCIS might have on Bodnar's death, other than that things had pretty much gone back to normal.

 _Well,_ Tony thought as he grabbed his coffee from the cart vendor, _as normal as things can go around here._

He began to walk towards the building, spotting Ziva's ridiculous new sports car that she had bought with her inheritance money from her father. Tony shook his head. If Ziva was a male he'd say she was compensating for something. Taking a sip of his brew, Tony kept walking. Spring was in full bloom in the D.C area and he was beginning to think of using all that vacation time up. Take Leah and get away from the city; _get away from Ziva..._

"Hey!" Tim called, slowing Tony down. "Thought it was my turn to buy us coffee today?"

"Not today," Tony said, glancing at his partner. "Here," he handed Tim the extra coffee in his hand. "Your favorite."

Tim took the cardboard cup and thanked Tony. "So, I was thinking about our case last night..."

Tony threw him a skeptical look, "No you weren't. I know you were playing video games with Jimmy. He called me and invited me. So, why don't you ask me what you _really_ want to ask me?"

His cheeks blushed and Tim looked down at the ground. "Were you on another date with Leah?"

A low, harmless chuckle rumbled in Tony's chest. "Yeah. Took her downtown to a highly recommended steakhouse."

"Two dates in one week," Tim pointed out. "Are you going out on Friday?"

"Yes," Tony replied. "Did Ziva put you up to this?"

Tim's eyes went wide for a moment. "Well, not really, but we've been talking..."

Tony glared. "I thought you two hated office gossip?"

The junior agent looked ashamed and embarrassed. "I do hate gossip, Ziva usually starts the conversations and since we can't talk to her about anything else...I don't know, I'm just trying to make the transition to her coming back upstairs to the team a little easier."

"She can ask all she wants," Tony said, heading inside the building, "but all of that is in the hands of Homeland Security now."

"Does Leah know?" Tim asked, generally curious.

"If she did, she wouldn't tell me, and I wouldn't ask."

"Ziva thinks you're only sleeping with Leah to get information."

Tony rolled his eyes and flashed his identification that the security guard. "Of course she does. She's jealous that I'm not sleeping with her. She had her chance, just a few months ago, and she told me to stay here in D.C."

Tim followed Tony to the elevator. "The longer you stay with Leah, the harder things are going to get," he pointed out. "And put me right in the middle. I really, really, don't want to be in the middle, Tony."

He understood. Tony never wanted to make McGee have to choose between his partners. He thought about the white envelope in his desk drawer, maybe it was time to go hand it in to Vance. "Don't worry, I've got everything planned out. You won't be in the middle, okay?" _I'll be long gone before that happens._

The pair of agents exited the elevator and headed for their desks. Tony was surprised to see Leah standing there with Gibbs. She hadn't been around in a few days. Her eyes told him all he needed to know, however, something was up and it wasn't good news. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, pulling her white blouse taut against her body. "Homeland was finally able to clear up that security footage," she murmured.

"Oh?" Tony questioned, raising an eyebrow towards Gibbs.

"It could be Ziva," Gibbs replied.

Tony glanced behind him at Ziva's empty desk. "Could be?"

Gibbs sighed, heavily. "They could only clear it up so much. The woman's back is to us the whole time, she isn't wearing what Ziva had on the night of the murder and her backside fits about a dozen Mossad agents."

"It wasn't Ziva," Tony said, firmly. "She wouldn't have missed if she shot him."

"The problem is," Leah snapped, "we might never uncover who is responsible."

"Is that really a problem?"

"Yes, when it concerns National Security."

"We can't have a Mossad agent freely killing around here, DiNozzo," Gibbs snapped.

Tim shifted his gaze between his team and Leah. "So... where's Ziva now?"

Gibbs gestured towards the Director's office. "Morrow is talking with her. Letting her know that he's turning this investigation over to the Department of Defense."

Tony put his coffee down. "What's the D.O.D going to do? Put her on trial even though we can't prove it?"

"I'm not going to do anything of the sort Agent DiNozzo," a cheerful voice said.

Everyone in the bullpen glanced up at the tall, lanky, newcomer. A visitor badge was clipped to his lapel and he was carrying a brief case. He stepped forward with a smile, and reached his hand out. "Sorry to interrupt, I happened to walk in on the conversation. My name is Richard Parsons." He shook Tony's hand and then smiled at the rest. "Don't look so glum, I'm just here to dot a few _i's_ and cross some _t's."_

Tony glanced at his boss. Gibbs didn't look convinced. It wasn't coincidence that the day the footage got cleaned up enough that it might put Ziva at the scene that a D.O.D investigator showed up. Something wasn't adding up; Parsons was here to investigate Ziva, and he was doing an awful job of covering that up.

"I'm glad that you're here, Miss Dawson," Parsons was saying, pulling Tony out of his thoughts. "I wanted to talk to you first. Let me just go check in with Director Vance and find a place where we can set up and I'll come find you."

"I'm only here until Director Morrow leaves," Leah informed him, but he apparently didn't care. He told her that he would get her out of any obligation she might have with Morrow and then he was gone from the bullpen.

"What do we do, boss?" Tim asked, breaking the silence that followed.

"We have a case to solve," Gibbs said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Until we're told otherwise, we keep investigating."

* * *

Later that day, Tony noticed that Leah was still hanging around NCIS. She had taken up a seat at her old desk, laptop open, one of her spiral notebooks at her side, and a stale cup of coffee. "Parsons keeping you here?"

She glanced up to see him standing behind her. "Yes. So much for wanting to speak to me first. He's talked to everyone _but_ me. Morrow doesn't want me to rock the boat, so he told me to stay here. Fortunately, I can still access my work. Where have you been all morning?"

"Rounding up suspects," Tony answered. He went to his desk and opened the top drawer. Discarding his badge and weapon, he slammed the drawer shut. It had been a long morning, being down one agent. "Would have gone faster if Ziva was with us. Parsons seems intent on keeping her locked up in the building."

"I wouldn't worry, Tony," Leah assured him. "The footage is damning, but it's not sure-fire. Any decent lawyer can get the case dismissed before trial and everything will go back to normal."

 _Not everything,_ Tony thought as he sat down at his desk. He thought about the envelope in his drawer again. Would Leah go with him if he transferred? Would he request to be free from the trouble of D.C cost him a woman he was rapidly falling in love with? "Spoken like a true daughter of a lawyer," he said, with a wry grin. "Does your dad still like to get in the courtroom? Maybe he can help us..."

Leah chuckled. "My dad would love to get back in the courtroom. Somedays I think he regrets letting his father talk him into running for office, but, we come from a long line of public servants in Massachusetts. Daddy didn't want to disappoint."

Tony knew that feeling all too well. He had been trying to live up to expectations his entire life, but never his own. Movement caught his attention in the bullpen and he glanced up to see Richard Parsons breeze in, that sly smile on his face.

Parsons went right to Leah's desk. "Ah, Miss Dawson, sorry to keep you waiting. Director Vance has kindly allowed me a place to talk to you."

Leah signed off on her computer, quickly closed her notebook up so he couldn't see it, and said, "Let's get this over with. I have a lot of work to do."

"Oh, Miss Dawson," Parsons called when she turned in the director of the conference room, "this way."

"We're not going upstairs?" Leah asked.

"No, the conference room is in use right now," Parsons replied. "Director Vance found us another place to chat."

Tony was suddenly suspicious. Parsons had been taking all the people he _chatted_ with upstairs to the conference room, or Vance's office. Tim had been snagged just before they had headed out to pick up their suspects. As Leah began to walk away with Parsons, Tony was suddenly on high alert. He got up, quickly and quietly following behind them.

His gut churned when Parsons lead Leah into an interrogation room. Tony slipped into the observation unnoticed, softly closed the door, and then flipped the speaker on. He was probably violating a million things right now... he didn't care...

"Sorry for the accommodations," Parsons said, gesturing for Leah to sit down. "This was all that was available to us."

"It's fine," Leah said, a little uneasy as she took a seat.

Parsons sat across from her, glancing at all the papers he had laid out on the table. "Now, you've been gathering intel on Bodnar from the beginning, passing the information along to Homeland Security?"

Leah nodded. "Yes, my orders were to report any chatter I heard about Bodnar and his whereabouts and pass it along to the proper authorities."

"So you passed the information along that you believed NCIS was interfering, even when they had been ordered to stand down?"

"Yes. I reported it to Director Morrow. You've talked to him, he hasn't told you any of this?"

"Just being thorough. Now, Director Morrow was the one that assigned you to work with NCIS?"

Leah took a deep breath. "Yes. He believed if we involved NCIS it would stop the illegal search for Bodnar. Director Vance removed Agent David from the case, and I was allowed to enlist the help of Agent DiNozzo and Agent McGee."

Parsons shuffled some papers around. "So, did Agent David stop her little side investigation?"

She shook her head, nervously eyeing the camera. "No, we tracked her to a neighborhood in the slums of D.C."

He cleared his throat. "Did you report that to Director Morrow?"

"I cut her some slack; her father had been murdered. Vance warned her that the next time I would have to report. We didn't have anymore trouble."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Pardon?"

"Are you sure that she stopped looking for Bodnar?"

"There was no evidence to suggest she was," Leah argued.

"She's a former Mossad spy," Parsons pointed out.

In the observation room Tony bristled. His investigator instincts were screaming. Leah had been conned into an interrogation, not a chat. His protect side was demanding that he go in there and end it, but his more practical side was telling him that it wouldn't make matters better.

Leah seemed to have figured out she was being interrogated and not interviewed to clean up loose ends. Her shoulders stiffened, her posture became a bit more defensive. "If she was still looking for him, then she was doing it by means that were detected by my team at the NSA."

Parsons frowned. "You leave your notebooks out on your desk when you walk away?" Her eyes went wide for a moment. "Is it possible Agent David used your notes to track Bodnar by looking at your notebooks while you were absent from your desk."

"I guess..."

"Could she have followed you to the shipyard?"

"It's...I suppose it's possible..."

The D.O.D investigator shuffled more papers around. "You went to Europe with Agent DiNozzo?"

Leah nodded, timidly. "Yes. He was assigned to protect me."

Parsons murmured in agreement, then, "He didn't just protect you though."

Tony felt his anger starting to simmer. He knew where this was going. Leah, on the other hand, did not. Her eyes still held a bit of innocence in them, still held an unawareness that she was about to become a sacrificial lamb.

"He helped me apprehend Bodnar's brother," she offered up, freely.

"Come now, Miss Dawson," Parsons drawled, "he did a little bit more than that."

"What...what are you suggesting?"

"Did you sleep with him?"

Tony's anger went from simmering to boiling; Leah's face went as white as a sheet as Parsons continue to press her if she had slept with Tony. The senior field agent finally had enough when she began to stumble over her words and the D.O.D investigator kept forcefully demanding details from her. He threw the door to observation open before doing the same to the interrogation room. Both Leah and Parsons looked up startled by his abrupt entrance, and then Tony bellowed out, "This interrogation is over!"

Parsons glared at him. "Agent DiNozzo, with all due respect, you do not get to tell me when I am done conducting my investigation. I am not done questioning Miss Dawson yet, so you can kindly leave."

"You're done," Tony snapped, gently helping Leah to her feet. He placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her towards the door, "If you want to talk to either of us, you'll do so with our lawyers present."

"You're interfering with a federal investigation," Parsons snapped. "If would be better for both of you if you just cooperated."

Tony ignored him, moving his hand from Leah's back and slipping his arm around her waist, he herded her towards the emergency stairwell. Once inside, he let go of her and turned her to face him. "Don't say anything else to him without your dad or another lawyer present, do you understand me?"

Leah numbly nodded her head. "I don't...I don't understand why... why is he going after me... I did everything I was supposed too. I reported everything to Morrow, I followed his orders. Why am I the one in trouble?"

"Because," Tony whispered, pulling her close, "they need someone to take the fall. Don't worry, Leah, I'll protect you. I won't let them do this to you."


	23. Chapter 23

**Warnings:** Spoilers for S10

 **A/N:** Here's the next part. Hope you enjoy the new chapter and don't be afraid to let me know what you think, I try to respond to each and every one of my reviews because I love discussing my work with you all! If you find any mistakes that I miss please send me a PM so I can correct them.

* * *

Tony put her into his car and drove. He drove away from NCIS, away from the Navy Yard, and didn't stop until he'd pulled into an opulent neighborhood. Getting out of the car, he glanced around, worried that he had been followed. He'd told McGee that he was following up on a lead via text message; it would keep Gibbs off his tail for a bit anyways.

Carefully he helped a still rattled Leah out of the car. On the way to their destination Tony had made some phone calls, called in a few favors he had and discovered that the D.O.D investigation wasn't about closing loose ends, it was about making someone responsible for Ilan Bodnar's death and since they couldn't nail Ziva or Mossad, they were going after the second-best option—Leah.

He knew that Parsons would probably send someone after them here, but at least here, they had the an attorney in Leah's father, at least here Parsons might be scared away by a U.S Senator.

Tony knocked on the Dawson's' door. Even though it was warm, he felt a shiver run up his spine. What had they gotten themselves into? He knew that his relationship with Leah didn't break any regulations, however, in court that could be used against her, that she wasn't using her best judgement because she was working with her lover. Or, they'll twist that she only slept with Tony to get information out of him to murder Bodnar herself. He had been around the block a few times, he knew how this type of investigation was going to work.

"Miss Leah," the housekeeper greeted with a smile. "Mrs. Dawson did not tell me you were stopping by."

"Maria, is the Senator home?" Tony asked as she let them inside the house.

"Yes," Maria said, taking Leah's coat. "He came home for lunch but he is going back to the office soon."

Tony closed the door and told the housekeeper that it was important that they speak to him. She promised to get him straight away. As she walked away with their coats, Tony reached out and rubbed Leah's shoulder. "Your dad will know what to do, okay?"

Leah hugged herself tightly. Being in the public limelight since she was a child, she knew how this was going to play out, how it could hurt her father's reelection bid. "How… how did Parsons know we were…we are… sleeping together? It's not like he found out on our social media pages, we've kept it low key since returning to Washington."

He felt his skin crawl. Tony knew exactly what had happened; Parsons had questioned Ziva, she had been the one to tell him about their relationship. "It was Ziva."

She took a step back, her blue eyes wide. "What? Why would she do that? Is it some kind of revenge because I wouldn't let her get her nose dirty in a case that could have destroyed her career if she was involved?"

 _Because no one has ever told her 'no',_ Tony thought as footsteps echoed in the hallway. The NCIS agent glanced up to see John Dawson, suitcoat off, tie undone and open collar. His face showed some mild concern. It wasn't like his daughter to call in the middle of the day. "Leah, why are you not at work?"

"Oh Daddy," Leah cried, her arms dropping to her side. "Everything is a mess!"

"What is a mess?" John inquired. His daughter was usually cool handed, she barely had emotional outbursts.

"He was asking me all kinds of questions, about my work, about my personal life," Leah sobbed.

John glanced at Tony looking for some kind of explanation; Morrow did not seem concerned about his daughter's relationship with the federal agent. Had something changed that he was not aware of?

Tony swallowed the bile in his throat. "Department of Defense is investigating Leah for neglectiant homicide," the NCIS agent said, low in his throat. It made him angry to even think about. "They claim that she left classified materials unattended and that she was careless when she went to meet Bodnar; the killer could have followed her."

Leah clenched her fists. "Daddy, I was only following Director Morrow's orders. I might have left my notebooks unattended but that doesn't mean I should be charged with anything…. Right?"

"It's a weak case," John affirmed. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I've got pull, I'll get these charges dropped."

"Thank you, Daddy," Leah sighed, moving towards her father and falling into his warm hug.

He wiped her tears, and took her face in her hands. John smiled at his little girl. "Why don't you go have a cup of tea with your mother. I'd like to speak to Anthony for a moment."

She gazed uncertainly at Tony. He nodded his head and gestured for her to join her mother. Leah straightened her shoulders and briskly walked away, glancing back tentatively once at Tony before disappearing into the parlor.

John stepped closer to Tony and pointed towards a den. "Come sit with me."

Tony quietly followed, closing the French doors behind him. He watched as the Senator went to pour himself some whiskey, and then politely declined a drink himself, even though he could use one. "I need to get back to NCIS to get this sorted out," the SFA explained.

The Senator smiled and sipped his drink. "Always looking out for my daughter," he stated, "I like that about you, Anthony, your loyalty, you sense of duty and honor."

"Well, I don't know about honor," Tony said with a shrug, _after all I am sleeping with your daughter…_

"How much trouble is my daughter in?" John asked, seriously.

"Given the outrage that Ilan Bodnar's death has sparked, Internationally, I'd say a lot," Tony drawled. "She wasn't lying when she said she didn't do anything wrong, D.O.D needs someone to take the fall, and they're going to take the person that they can easily nail the coffin shut on."

John shook his head. He had warned Leah years ago about the politics of working a government job, he just never thought his daughter would be caught in the crosshairs. She was always so meticulous about her notes and orders and regulations. "I assume that they are going to try to make her relationship with you a mockery."

Tony tensed. "I have a feeling that the lawyers are going to use her relationship with me to suggest her judgment was impaired or that she used me to get information. Neither is the case, Senator. Despite our relationship, your daughter hasn't lost sight of her job."

He swirled the amber liquid around his glass. John sighed, finished the rest of the drink off and put the glass down on his desk. "I know some of the best lawyers in Boston. One of them can be down here in no time, until then, Anthony, if anyone asks you, you tell them that my daughter is refusing to speak to them again until her lawyer is present."

"It's probably best if she stays here," Tony said, straightening his suit coat. "Harder for the D.O.D to get to her here."

"I'll make sure my staff knows not to admit anyone but you," John replied. He glanced at his watch. "I need to get back to the Capital, but I'll have my chief of staff make that phone call to get Leah a lawyer."

Tony followed the Senator to the front door. "Hopefully, sir," the agent said, firmly, "by the time I'm done investigating a little bit more—she won't need it."

* * *

McGee met him at the elevator upon his arrival back at NCIS. He wasn't surprised, he had after all enlisted McGee in covering for him, without even really asking. The younger agent was certainly annoyed the senior field agent had been absent so long. "Where the hell have you been? Gibbs is ripping mad."

Tony noticed that Ziva was back at her desk. Anger erupted inside him once again. "I had something to sort out," he told the junior agent honestly. Then, he grabbed Tim by the arm, pulling him out of sight of Ziva. "Can you tell me what kinds of questions Ziva asked you about my relationship with Leah?"

Tim's brow furrowed in confusion. "Little things, like where you liked to take her out, if she was still staying at your apartment… I only told her that you guys go out on Fridays."

"Did she ever ask you if we slept together in Europe?" Tony inquired.

"Yes. Every, single, day you were gone and after," Tim said, rolling his eyes. "I told her I didn't know."

"What else has she been asking?"

"What's with all the questions?"

Tony frowned. "The D.O.D wants to charge Leah with negligent homicide for Bodnar's death," he answered, "Parsons grilled Leah this afternoon in the interrogation room; I ended it and took her to her father's."

Tim glanced nervously in the direction of the bullpen. It would explain Ziva's smug look all afternoon. "How is Leah responsible for Bodnar's death?"

"According to Parsons, leaving her notebooks on her desk, unattended, could have led the killer to the ship," Tony replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "In other words, he doesn't have enough evidence to make the charges stick to Ziva, but he does have enough in his mind to go after Leah."

"Do you think Ziva set Leah up?" Tim asked. "Abby and I have been over that footage again and again, there's just no way to tell if it's Ziva or another Mossad officer. Seems rather…"

"Jealous?" Tony offered.

"Come on, you don't think she's doing this just because she's jealous, do you?"

"As good as any explanation as I can come up with at the moment."

Tim swallowed, anxiously and followed Tony back into the bullpen. Gibbs glanced up from his desk with a scowl at the senior field agent. "Where the hell have you been, DiNozzo?"

Tony glanced at Ziva, who hadn't even bothered to look up, and then answered, "I took Leah to her parent's house to meet with a lawyer." He saw Ziva react to that, her brown eyes looking up then. "Apparently, Parsons has his sights set on her."

Gibbs got up from his desk, tossing his reading glasses aside. "Morrow was certain they weren't going to pursue charges, that they really wanted to find the killer. What changed their mind?"

"I don't know," Tony said with a shrug, "ask Ziva."

"What?" Ziva snapped. "I have nothing to do with the D.O.D investigating your girlfriend."

"How did Parsons find out that Leah and I were sleeping together?" Tony asked, turning towards her desk.

"He asked if you were in a relationship with her, I answered, truthfully," Ziva snapped.

"Did you also tell Parsons that she would sometimes leave her notebooks on her desk?"

"I… I would not …know about that."

"No?" he questioned. "You mean you didn't see them? You didn't see where she tracked Bodnar too?"

"That woman in the video only looks like me," she argued. "I did not kill him. Mossad did."

Tony wanted to yell and scream at her, but something inside of him urged him to back away. In the past, that's what he would do, he'd yell at her, he'd challenge her thinking that it was all a part of the game they were playing. He finally realized that it was no longer a game. Somalia and her father had twisted her into a person that used personal revenge on people, dirty tactics to get what she wanted. He needed to wash his hands clean of her…

Gibbs interrupted his thoughts with a question of his own, "These notebooks have detailed accounts on where she was going the night Bodnar was killed? Or detailed notes on his movements once we figured out he was here, in the States?" If they did that meant Mossad was out of the question; Leah and Tony had been out of town when Elbaz had been in Washington. Leah would have taken her notebooks with her to Boston.

"I'd have to find her notebooks," Tony said. _If D.O.D doesn't already have them._

"Call her, ask her where they are," Gibbs ordered. "Let's make sure this investigation stops here."


	24. Chapter 24

**Warnings:** Spoilers for s10

 **A/N:** Another long chapter ahead. Hope you enjoy it! As always feel free to leave comments, I generally get around to replying to each and everyone of you because I love discussing the story and where it's going.

* * *

Leah sunk beneath the lavender smelling bubbles and let the hot water engulf her body. She might not consider herself a socialite like her mother, however, she did enjoy her mother's brand of relaxing; hot tea and a hot bubble bath in pure lavender essential oil was the cure for any stress Katherine always said.

As the silky water enveloped her tense body, Leah found her thoughts straying to something her mother would probably deem inappropriate for any single girl of good social standing—she kept thinking about how much better the bath would feel if Tony was with her. She could almost imagine his solid form holding her, his hands massaging away every knot, his lips kissing every tender spot…

Her eyes popped open and she jumped slightly, water sloshing around the antique claw foot tub. She really should not be having sexual fantasies in her mother's bath tub. It felt wrong somehow.

Tony would be happy to indulge her that little fantasy once they were back at his apartment or her townhouse. _If I'm even allowed in my townhouse at all,_ Leah thought, shuddering at the thought of the D.O.D turning over every corner in her house to find evidence that she was to blame for Bodnar's death. They wouldn't find any, and Tony had called earlier asking for her notebooks… he'd have them in his possession before the D.O.D even issued a warrant to search her home.

 _Great-Grandmother would be horrified if she knew the government was in her home,_ Leah mused, thinking fondly of the woman who had bequeathed the house to her. Her maternal great-grandmother had escaped Nazi Germany with her son, and then pregnant daughter-in-law. She had been the only family left of Leah's grandfather and when her grandparents were declared enemies of the state, her great-grandmother had been declared one as well by association. Not that her great grandmother had been fond of the Nazis. She often used vulgar terms in German to describe them and it was this engrained hatred of them that made her weary of any form of government.

Leah wondered how much times had changed, if they had at all, since her family left Germany. Some days she concluded that nothing had changed, except the players. Sighing, she closed her eyes, sick to her stomach about the thought of the D.O.D trashing her house, trashing all the antique furniture and family heirlooms that had survived the trip across the ocean with her family.

"Darling?" her mother's voice called on the other side of the door. "Will Anthony be joining us for dinner tonight?"

"He didn't say," Leah called back, suddenly reminded of her fantasy of him in the tub with her. "Why do you ask?"

Katherine hesitated for a second. Leah knew she was perhaps plotting something, and then she said, calmly, "Your brother and Beth are flying down from Boston tonight. Beth is speaking…at a fundraiser… about the lack of efficient healthcare in our country. You know your father supports universal healthcare for all… and it's a very touchy subject around Washington these days."

Leah reached between her legs and found the plug to the drain. She pulled it up, watching the water swirl and disappear. Carefully, she climbed out of the tub and found a towel. She wrapped it around her, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her hair was piled high on top of her head, messy, wild strands of hair hung in her eyes. "I do not think Tony is going to have any problems with Jason and Beth."

"It's just…we don't know Anthony's politics. We know very little about him, actually," Katherine responded.

"Tony doesn't like politics. He tends to stay out of those discussions," Leah retorted.

"Beth might like to know his opinion."

"Mom… this isn't about Beth."

Silence came from the other side of the door as Leah found her clothes and got dressed. Katherine was never one for full blown out confrontations, she skirted around issues if she knew it would cause problems. She was brought up in Manhattan, had the finest things available to her; Grandfather had quickly moved up the ranks, especially when it was learned that he had secrets on the Nazis. Grandmother often said he sold those secrets for pretty pennies. Truth was, her grandfather had been a stock market whiz, earned enough in investing to buy a shipping business.

Leah opened the door and found her mother standing on the other side, chewing her fingernails, something Katherine did when she was anxious. "What's the real problem, Mom? I'm not a child, or one of your friends at the D.A.R… you can talk to me like a normal adult."

Katherine dropped her hands and sighed. "Your father might not be concerned, but I worry that Anthony is going to turn on you to save his own career; we just don't know him, sweetheart. Or, well, your father claims he does—according to him, he is an excellent judge of character."

"Tony isn't going to turn on me," Leah said. "We weren't exactly friends at first because he thought I was going to arrest his team. He's loyal to those he cares about. He's at my house now looking for my notebooks to get me out of this mess."

"Or he's there looking for them to implicate you," Katherine replied. "I grew up listening to stories from my parents and grandmother about what the Germans did to their own people. Loyalty means nothing…"

"Mom, this isn't Nazi Germany," Leah argued. "Tony hasn't been brainwashed with fear and propaganda."

"I understand, I just…I worry about you Leah," Katherine said, sadly, "working in a man's occupation."

"Women have been a vital part of intelligence for years, Mom."

"None of them were treated properly, I assume."

Leah clenched her fists at her sides. No, she wasn't treated very nicely at times, she probably had about dozen or so sexual harassment complaints she could have filed throughout the years, but to keep her job she had kept silent. "Mom, I'm a big girl. I can handle it."

Katherine straightened her shoulders, brushing the stray strands of hair away from her daughter's face. "It's just the timing of it all; your father is going to start thinking about his re-election campaign. A federally prosecuted daughter would look terrible on the campaign trail."

She thought about it for a moment. Her father had many political enemies; maybe even some at the NSA, but she didn't think that any of them would set her up like this just to bring her father down. "Mom… do you know what you're suggesting."

Her mother shrugged slender shoulders. "Politics is a dirty business. Somedays, I wish your father had been happy just being a lawyer. I know your grandparents are happy we are no longer in Boston, but I miss our life there. Time… it was much simpler."

"I'm sorry, Mama, I didn't mean to cause so much trouble," Leah lamented, hugging her own waist.

"Darling, you were doing your job," Katherine argued.

"My job," she spat, with a shake of her head. She loved her job, knew that it was important work, but other days she blamed her job for all her failures in her personal life. How many men had walked away because she was too invested in her job? _Too many…_ "My job has caused me more problems than success."

Katherine reached for her daughter's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Come on, dear," she whispered, "let me fix your hair for dinner."

Leah was going to argue that her hair was just fine, until she caught a glimpse of it again in her mother's dresser mirror. Maybe it wouldn't so bad letting her mother do her hair, at least she wouldn't look like such a wreck when her brother and his wife arrived for dinner.

* * *

The street that Leah's townhouse was on reminded Tony of where his grandparents had lived in New York City; brownstones built during the Gilded Age, large mature trees lining the sidewalks, and the occasional bark of a dog.

He parked the Charger in front of Leah's home. When he had first come here Tony had found it hard to believe that Leah could afford such a place on her salary. Yes, she made a comfortable living, but her neighbors were descendants of old money, doctors, lawyers, CEO's…. she had smiled at him and told him she had inherited the place from her great grandmother. Leah was the only one of the five Dawson children that called Washington home, and naturally her great grandmother had left it to her.

Tony brushed his fingers along the cast iron handle, before plunging the modern-day key into the deadbolt. The lock released and he was allowed access. He knew the alarm code; he knew every nook and cranny; there was something comforting about the smell of lilacs.

Late afternoon sunlight glittered through the lace curtains, dust particles dancing in the air. A window was cracked to let air in, and he could hear the family of sparrows that had nested in the elm tree out front singing away. It was a calm, serene evening, making it a stark contrast to how Tony was feeling. After the little spat of sorts with Ziva in the bullpen, Tony had felt the sting of betrayal. If Leah took a few missteps in her investigation it was not intentional, she wanted nothing more than to find out the truth, even if that lead her to a different killer other than Bodnar. Ziva had no right to put ideas in Parsons' head.

"I'm going to get you out of this Leah," Tony whispered to the townhouse, like a promise. "I'll make this right."

Silence was his only answer, of course. Underneath his feet the floor boards creaked as he walked towards her office, in the back of the townhouse on the first floor. Tony had seen her personal space once before, when he had brought her by to gather some things to take back to his apartment. It was neat and tidy, she told him that Great-Grandmother Lisel would scold her if everything wasn't kept neat.

Tony loved this room in the back of the house, it was so Leah. Books lined the shelves, one lay open on the love seat that had a blanket knit from soft, ivory yarn tossed over the back. He could smell a faint trace of her perfume and on the desk, a stack of spiral notebooks. He set his backpack down, opened it and produced a pair of latex gloves.

Gently, he peeled back the cover on the first notebook. It was dated just after Eli David and Jackie Vance were murdered. It showed Leah's earliest leads on Bodnar, even some doubt that she was chasing the right person. He leafed through the first notebook, found nothing that would suggest where she was going to meet Bodnar that fateful night.

It wasn't until the clock struck six, chimes filling the townhouse, that Tony found the notebook that might either burn or save Leah. Carefully, he placed the notebook in an evidence bag. He made sure the other notebooks were locked in a filing cabinet before leaving. He didn't want to make it easy for the D.O.D to get their hands on Leah's notes.

The sun had dipped well below the horizon when he made it back to his car. Tony wanted to drive to see Leah, but he knew he had to get the notebooks back to NCIS for testing. With any luck, the next time he saw her, the case against her would have been dropped.

* * *

"Did you find the notebooks?" Gibbs asked as Tony stepped off the elevator and back into the bullpen.

"Yeah," Tony replied, tossing his bag down near his desk. "Right where she said they'd be."

"Where are they now?"

"Abby's testing them for prints."

Gibbs sighed and nodded his head. He had a call into Morrow but he doubted the Director of Homeland Security was going to answer him. His blue eyes drifted towards Ziva's empty desk. He had sent her home for the night, no need to have her around to rile Tony up even more. "Okay. What's our next step?"

Tony ground his jaw. He had thought about that all the way back to NCIS. "Did McGee pull the security cameras yet? If someone was sniffing around Leah's desk while she worked here, we'd have it on camera. Did Ziva go home?"

The team leader stood up, his shoulders shagging slightly. "I sent her home. She was only going to make you more upset and I need your head clear on this, Tony."

The senior field agent was angry, but it was that silent rage that terrified Gibbs most. "If she's the reason Leah's in trouble, she should be punished boss. She blabbed to Parsons about my relationship with Leah, you know how jealous she is I chose Leah over her. She's got a vendetta. We both know what happens when she's got a vendetta."

"Parsons isn't talking about his conversation with Ziva," Gibbs replied.

"Why would he? She's his star witness apparently," Tony snapped. "She's doing this to hurt me."

"Let's deal with one problem at time," Gibbs said, "First, we need to get the charges against Leah dropped."

Tony ran his hands over his face. His boss was right. "It's my fault; I got her into this mess."

Gibbs shot him a stern look. "You didn't force her to sleep with you in Berlin. She made a choice."

"If I had more will power…"

"Damnit, DiNozzo… now you sound like Ziva."

"How so?" Tony questioned.

"She's always saying you have no will power around pretty women," Gibbs snapped.

Tony thought about it for a moment; he did have will power, just not any around Leah. If he had known back in Berlin, in that moment of passion, that it was going to lead them to such problems a few months later—he wouldn't have slept with her. This case could very well cost him the woman he loved. He sat down at his desk with a heavy sigh, and his shoulders shagged some more. "I shouldn't have broken Rule 12…"

Gibbs moved towards him, his eyes softening as he walked. There was a reason why he had rules against dating a co-worker, once Bodnar was dealt with Leah really wasn't Tony's co-worker anymore. Perhaps, it would have been better to wait until the case had been closed… there was little they could do about it now. He had no rules about jealous co-workers extracting revenge. _Maybe that's going to have to change…_ he thought, sadly. "Tony, you didn't break the rule… you bent it… a lot… but it still doesn't give Ziva the right to lash out at you and Leah this way."

He leaned back in his chair. Tony gave his boss a wry smile. "Bent the rule… guess you could say that since well, Leah isn't my co-worker anymore. Boss, when this is all over, there's no way I'm going to be able to work for you anymore, not with Ziva around. Too much has happened between us, too much where I'm not sure I can trust her to watch my back."

The statement didn't come as a surprise to Gibbs, he'd seen the envelope in Tony's desk… he didn't need to read what was inside to know that Tony was looking for a way out of D.C. He took a deep breath, and simply stated, "I know."


	25. Chapter 25

**Warnings:** Spoilers for S10

 **A/N:** Here's the next part. Enjoy!

* * *

Senator Dawson accompanied his daughter and her lawyer to the Depart of Defense Headquarters. He didn't care if the public saw, or started gossiping. His daughter was being wrongly accused for just doing her job and he was going to make sure that the press saw he was supporting her.

Leah clenched the straps of her tote bag that contained photocopies of the pages of her notebook on the night that Ilan Bodnar had been killed. NCIS still had the notebooks and were running all kinds of tests on them to see if they had ever been taken from her desk. Abby said if the notebooks had gone somewhere, she might be able to find traces of certain particles that had been in the air. Her stomach twisted into knots as they were led to a conference room. What if Abby found nothing? What if it didn't matter? Even if this didn't go to court, which her lawyer assured it was not going too, she would lose her security clearance for sure. What would she do then?

At the far end of the table Tom Morrow sat, looking annoyed that he was even here, in the seat facing the door, sat Richard Parsons, that same smug smile on his face. "Good Morning, Miss Dawson, Senator. Please, come in and sit down. I see you've brought a lawyer along. Mr. Prescott, nice to meet you."

Drew Prescott was one of the most well-known lawyers in the city of Boston. He'd defended some of the toughest clients, took on some of the toughest cases—his reputation proceeded him. "Let's cut to the chase, Mr. Parsons, your charges against my client are a witch hunt. No one in the government wants to confess that they screwed up when it came to catching Ilan Bodnar, so they're going to make the woman that knew him best, pay."

"Sir, that's not entirely true," Parsons said, suddenly a little flustered. "Your client led the killer right to Bodnar."

"She was following the orders of Homeland Security," Prescott said, eyes flashing to Morrow.

"Mr. Parsons is well aware that Leah was under my orders," Morrow muttered.

Prescott put his hand on Leah's shoulder and pulled a chair out for her. He instructed both her and her father to take a seat before he took his own. "Then maybe you should be the one under investigation," the lawyer suggested. "After all, you sent an analyst to meet with Bodnar instead of a field agent. The agents at NCIS were not capable enough to meet him?"

Morrow bristled. "Bodnar demanded to see Leah because he felt she was the only one able to clear his name. If I had sent an agent, the meet never would have happened. NCIS involvement in the case was minimal given their ties to the case. Leah only had two agents at her disposal and she was sharing them with their supervisor. I had three agents set up in that pier…"

"Three agents that didn't even get to Miss Dawson once the shots started," Prescott snapped. "Agents DiNozzo and McGee were there first."

"Do I wish things had gone down differently?" Morrow snapped back, "Damn straight I do, but I did my job."

"And Miss Dawson did hers," Prescott said, now looking at Parsons. "We both can agree these charges are bogus."

Parsons shifted in his seat. "Miss Dawson likes to take notes, she writes them down in notebooks. She left those notebooks on her desk while going to use the restroom at NCIS. The information was out in the open for whoever killed Ilan Bodnar to see."

Prescott pursed his lips. "Then you know how killed Bodnar, because if you didn't, how do you know that the killer used my client's notes to track him down?" When Parsons didn't say anything, Prescott continued to press him. "Do you know who killed Ilan Bodnar, Mr. Parsons?"

Leah saw the blood draining a little from Parsons face. He did know who killed Bodnar. Had he really been overlooking that to go after her? Something else was really going on here, something she didn't like. He was going after a bigger fish to fry than her. Was he going after her father? Morrow? Is that why the Director of Homeland Security was in the room? "Did you cut a deal with them so they would testify against me?"

"I have a witness that says the killer can be placed in the NCIS building the night before the murder," Parsons replied, "and they can testify that the killer saw your notes, which you left out on your desk while you used the restroom."

"If you know who the killer is, why haven't you arrested them yet?" Prescott asked. "You wouldn't be pulling our leg, now, would you Mr. Parsons?"

"The evidence in the case is circumstantial. Until more is uncovered I do not have enough for an arrest," Parsons answered, truthfully.

"Grainy security footage is the _only_ evidence you have, and you cannot determine an identity of the killer," Leah snapped. "So if you cannot determine the identity of the killer, how can the person who is implicating me possible know _who_ the killer is."

Parsons was speechless; Prescott tossed a coy grin at the Senator. "She's got the Dawson lawyer in her, doesn't she, John?" He turned back towards Parsons, "Miss Dawson is right. If investigators cannot determine who killed Bodnar than how can you believe your witness?"

When he didn't answer, Prescott signaled to Leah and the Senator that it was time to leave. "We're done here, Mr. Parsons. I suggest you drop these charges before I take this to the press, and if you think I'm joking, try me."

The party was halfway out the door when Parsons shouted, "Wait!" All three of them turned to look at the young D.O.D investigator. "You're right, I have no idea who killed Bodnar, I do have testimony that your relationship with Agent DiNozzo got a bit too cozy in Berlin… that it may have impaired your judgment a bit; my bosses are breathing down my neck to make an arrest in this case."

"And my notebooks, who told you about those?" Leah inquired.

"Agent David told me she saw them on your desk the night Bodnar was killed," Parsons said.

"NCIS is testing my notebook now for prints; what will you do if they find Agent David's prints on them?" she challenged, fed up with middle school revenge plot she had ben thrust into by Ziva.

"It's not enough evidence to charge her with murder," Parsons started, and then cleared his throat when Leah glared at him, "but, it might be enough to charge her with obstruction."

Leah clenched her jaw. She knew that Ziva was doing this just to spite her, because she didn't get what she wanted—whether that was Tony or the opportunity to get her revenge for her father's death—Leah wasn't sure. All she knew was that she was pissed off. Really pissed off.

John reached out and placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Let's go, sweetheart. I think we've said all that needs to be said here. It's now up to Mr. Parsons to make it right."

* * *

"There's actually three sets of prints on the notebooks you brought me, Tony," Abby informed him.

"Three?" Tony repeated, feeling his stomach clench. He knew Leah was being set up. "Who?"

Abby typed on her computer and brought up Leah's photograph. "Obviously, Leah's prints were all over them. Can I just say I admire the notes she takes, so detailed and neat!" She smiled at Tony but wiped it off her face when she saw that Tony wasn't returning it. "Anyways," she said, typing again, "the second person was, no surprise… Ziva."

Tony watched as Ziva's face appeared on the screen, juxapositioned over Leah's— _just where she wishes she was in my life…a head of her…_ "Do you know if Ziva looked at them the night Bodnar was killed?"

"No," Abby said with a shake of her head. "Timmy pulled up the video footage of that night. No one was near Leah's desk, and she didn't leave it unattended for very long."

"Did you find out when Ziva might have looked at the notebooks?" Tony questioned, clenching his fists at his sides. "If we can't prove she murdered Bodnar at least we can show Parsons that she's doing this to spite Leah and nothing more."

Abby looked at little uneasy; Tony didn't blame her, he was putting her right in the middle of his problems. She sighed and typed some more, pulling up a freeze-frame of the bullpen. "The week after your accident. Her prints were on the notebook detailing the accident," she said, softly. "Looks like she was trying to figure out why you weren't coming into work. Didn't she show up at your apartment around that time?"

Tony nodded, remembering Ziva showing up at his door. "Yeah," he said, "she wasn't too happy that Leah was staying with me. She went to Gibbs after, complaining about how I'd broken rule 12. Guess I should have known things were going to turn ugly." He thought about what she had said to him earlier and then asked, "Who was the third person?"

She smiled. "I'm glad you asked, because this is where it gets interesting!"

He quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"The third person is CIA," Abby said.

"CIA?" Tony repeated, he then recalled something he had read in an earlier dated notebook of Leah's. "Hold on, Abs, I think you may stumbled upon something. Leah felt that there was heavy CIA involvement in the death of Kazmi, and she was leaning towards them having their hands on Eli David's death as well. Except that blew up in their faces a little because the hitman got jumpy and attacked Eli in the Vance's home."

"They were using Bodnar to cover their tracks?"

"Leah thinks there was a whole deal with the CIA, Mossad, and perhaps a terrorist by the name of Benham Parsa."

"So, could the CIA and Mossad be in some kind of deal to off Bodnar?"

Tony's head was spinning. It made the most sense. Why else would Bodnar be adamant he had not killed Eli and Jackie? He had always said that there were things that Leah didn't know, that she wasn't looking outside the box enough… "Was this CIA agent in the building at all?"

Abby pulled up another video clip showing someone snooping around the bullpen when the team was out. It showed that no one was in the bullpen but Ziva, who had her head down at her desk, working on logging case files. The team must have been working on the Bodnar case and Vance had assigned her the desk work. She didn't seem to notice the CIA agent snooping around, but Tony knew, she was Mossad, she wouldn't have missed it.

He leaned over and kissed Abby's cheek like Gibbs usually did. "Thanks, Abs," he whispered. "This is going to help a lot, trust me."

She frowned. "It's going to get Ziva in a lot of trouble. I mean, she broke rules, I get that, it just… it hurts having to do this to a friend. Do you really think she told Parsons about the notebooks?"

"Parsons might charge her with obstruction for her misleading him," Tony said, "but if she knows some valuable information that he needs to bring Bodnar's killer in, she could get off with a deal. Vance will probably have to fire her, to save face of course."

"What are you going to do?" Abby asked, chewing on her lower lip. "And don't give me that innocent look, I know you've been thinking about leaving for a while now. McGee saw you put an envelope into your desk; he thinks it's a request to transfer or a resignation letter."

"Yeah," Tony confessed, "I'm thinking about asking Vance for a transfer. I need to get out before any damage is done to the team, Abby. Gibbs was right about dating a co-worker, it always causes problems… I promise I'll let you come visit me wherever I end up."

"Does Leah know you're thinking of leaving Washington?" Abby inquired. "It's not fair to her if you haven't told her, if you haven't talked about it."

Tony was saved from answering that question by his cell phone ringing. He pulled the phone out and answered, without looking to see who was calling. "Yeah, DiNozzo."

McGee was on the other end, " _Can you come up to Observation? I found something I think you need to see."_

* * *

Leah returned to her office at the NSA and tossed her tote bag angrily against her desk. She had wanted to march down to NCIS to chew Ziva out, but she decided that would not do anyone any good. So, she decided to come into work. Her security clearance had not been revoked yet and she had not been told she was suspended until further notice—she wasn't going to sit around at home and wallow.

On her desk was a sticky note, hanging off the edge. She ripped it off and read the note. _Deliah Fielding called you. She says she has information on Richard Parsons and what he might be doing at NCIS._

"I knew Parsons was after someone else," Leah said under her breath. She pulled her cellphone out and dialed. "Hey," she said when Deliah picked up. "I got your message. What's going on?"

* * *

Gibbs noticed that both Tony and Tim charged into the bullpen at the same moment as Leah Dawson sprinted off the elevator. "Heard the charges were dropped," he said to Leah when she got close enough. "Must have felt good."

Leah looked at Tony and Tim, balled her fists up against her thighs. "Gibbs, Parsons wasn't really going after me. I was just a ruse, so he could get his hands on information that he needed. Seems like…seems like he's had his eyes on your team for a long time now, he was just waiting for the right moment."

"She's right, boss," Tony confirmed. "McGee has been digging around for information about Parsons."

"He's pulled all of our cases in the last two years," Tim said. "At first I had no idea why he was looking at them, but…"

"Vance?" Gibbs guessed. "Is he going after Vance?"

The three of them stood there, glancing at one another. Gibbs grew annoyed that they seemed anxious to let him know what was going on. "Well!" He snapped at them, "Someone spit it out!"

A cool, causal voice responded to him. It was Parsons, standing in the bullpen with agents surrounding Gibbs and the team. "No need to lose your temper, Agent Gibbs," the lawyer said. He tipped his head towards Leah. "You almost figured it out before I could get my arrest warrant. NSA was correct—one of their best analysts."

Leah took a step towards Gibbs, Tony and Tim. "You're playing with fire," she warned the lawyer. "No one profits from digging up the past like this—no one."

Parsons didn't seem to care. "Agent Gibbs," he addressed the team leader, "your team toes the line, has even crossed it on occasion and yet no one has done a damn thing. I found plenty in your files to put you all in jail but I was told to back off your agents, because they were after all, simply following your orders."

"Am I under arrest for something?" Gibbs snapped, stepping in front of Leah. "If so, get it over with."

"Precise and to the point," Parsons said with a grin. "Very well, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, I hereby place you under arrest for dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice."

Tony, Tim, and Leah could only stand there and watch as Gibbs was led away. At least they hadn't cuffed him… Tony took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Your lawyer still in town, Leah?" he asked, before walking away and picking up his phone. He had a few more favors to cash in on.


	26. Chapter 26

**Warnings:** Spoilers for s10

 **A/N:** Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

Subconsciously, Tony had known it was always going to come to this; him sitting across from Ziva in the interrogation room. She had stormed into NCIS about an hour or so after Gibbs had been carted away, demanded to know what Tony was going to do about it.

He had already formulated a plan, but he would be damned if he was going to share it with her. His cool, collected manner only made hers even more heated—especially when she noticed Leah was standing there. The presence of the NSA analyst, still roaming free in her mind, seemed to ignite an inferno in Ziva. Immediately she started to accuse Leah of being the one to set Gibbs up, to have him arrested and she dressed Tony down for listening to Leah.

It was then, while she was in the middle of making a scene, that Tony grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the interrogation room. "Sit down!" he snapped, pushing her towards a chair and letting go. "You're really testing my patience, David."

"What happened to the team?" Ziva yelled at him. "We protect each other, we watch each other's backs!"

"Gibbs willing left with Parsons," Tony replied. "And Leah did not turn him in. She came here to warn him."

"Liar. She's been out to get us the moment she stepped foot in NCIS."

"Is that why you lied about seeing her notes the night Bodnar was killed?"

Ziva glared at him, her chin lifting a little in defiance. "I lied about nothing to Parsons. He asked me questions and I answered them truthfully."

Tony leaned against the table. "You had no right to tell him about my relationship with her; you had no right to suggest to him that it was impeding her judgment and you certainly do not have the right to tell me or her how to live our lives, whether you like what we're doing or not."

She clenched her jaw, the muscles in her cheeks tightening. "I only told Parsons what everyone knows about you around here, how you chase after any skirt. He assumed that you and Leah were sleeping around."

He glared at her. "You could have denied it."

"It would have been lying to him."

"Oh, so once in your life you couldn't tell a lie? Convenient."

"You are just pissed that your latest fling could go to jail."

"She's not a fling."

Ziva's eyes showed the slightest trace of emotion. "Why am I in here?"

Tony stood up, straightened his shoulders, and said, "Your prints were on Leah's notebooks. Care to explain?"

She looked away. "They were open on her desk. She should not have been so careless."

He narrowed his green eyes on her. "Do you know who killed Bodnar?" She was silent. "Did you do it, Ziva?"

"I am done talking to you," Ziva said. She stood up, pushed her long hair off her shoulder, and turned to go. "I have work to get back too, last I checked the team still had a case."

"Vance has to be informed about what you did," Tony told her as she left, "you didn't follow his orders; he told you to stay out of it and you didn't."

Ziva turned and glared at him. "Nothing I did led to Bodnar's death. My father was murdered by that man and no one would allow me to have access to information. We always keep the family of our victims informed about our investigations, yet I was kept in the dark, on purpose!"

Tony crossed his arms over his chest. "You saw someone snooping around Leah's desk the day Bodnar was killed, you never reported it. I checked with Vance, I checked with Gibbs… I even asked McGee if you had said anything about someone around Leah's desk… nothing."

She didn't say anything for a moment. "There are a lot of people around our office, Tony. I was probably busy working and did not notice."

He didn't believe it, not for one second. "You're trained Mossad—you notice everything Ziva. We've been trying to figure out who killed Bodnar for weeks; you might have had vital information but you kept silent. I have to wonder why—were you happy he was dead and didn't care if someone paid for it?"

"Ilan killed my only living family," Ziva hissed. "He got what he deserved."

There was no time for Tony to respond, she had disappeared down the hall. He swallowed the bile in his throat before he pulled his cellphone out and called security, asking for the visitor logs for the day that Bodnar was killed. They were going to get to the bottom of this and get Gibbs out of hot water. It might be the last thing he did for the MCRT, but Tony didn't care—he had more important things to worry about.

* * *

Tim and Leah joined Abby down in the lab, watching as she paced back and forth, muttering ideas on how they could get Gibbs out of trouble. "We don't even know what he's being charged with, exactly, Abs, but I promise, we're not going to just let this happen," Tim tried reassuring her.

Abby nervously twirled the end of her pigtail around her finger. "I know that Gibbs pushes the boundaries, but he gets results. Are they really going to put him away for that?"

Leah shifted her weight. She had grown up in a lawyer's house; she had a pretty good idea how the system worked. "I think the worst that is going to happen is that Gibbs' loses his job. Parsons is reaching here. We all know that there are many, many in law enforcement that like to bend the rules like Gibbs. And if Parsons is going after him about Bodnar, Gibbs didn't do anything wrong. He kept Ziva off the case like I asked, he allowed me to use Tim and Tony when I needed them."

"What if they aren't going after him about Bodnar?" Abby asked, nervously.

"You think this has something to do with another case?" Leah inquired.

Abby looked nervously at Tim, who shook his head as if to tell her not to go there. "Yes. How much… how much has Tony told you about Gibbs?"

Leah shrugged her shoulders. "Not a whole lot; he said that Gibbs is incredibly private and he likes to respect that privacy by not divulging too much information about him. Why?"

Tim let out a soft breath. "Abby, we put all that behind us, don't bring it up again."

"But what if we have to bring it up again? What if Parsons found out?" she retorted, near tears.

"Found out about what?" Leah asked, confused.

"Gibbs… when he was in the marines his wife and daughter were murdered by a drug cartel leader," Abby said, hurriedly. "The NIS agent in charge of the investigation left information out in the open for Gibbs to see after the man fled back to Mexico. He ended up… he ended up dead."

Leah's shoulders stiffened. Suddenly, she was catching on. "Is there any proof that Gibbs killed him, other than the fact that he's a marine sniper?"

Abby swallowed before continuing. "Yes. The shell casings were brought to me. I tested them. They matched the type of rifle that Gibbs would have used in the Marines."

Tim rubbed his hands over his face. "Abby. You sent that report and nothing came from it. There is no way that Parsons is digging this all back up, all these years later."

"What happened to the report?" Leah questioned.

"I gave it to Vance," Abby said.

"And what was Vance supposed to do with it?"

"Send it along to the Mexican government."

"Are we sure it made it to Mexico?"

"No," Tony said, joining them in the lab. "Something tells me Parsons got his hands on it somehow. We need to dig up as much dirt as we can about him. I've chatted Morrow—he's getting Gibbs a lawyer."

"Where's Ziva?" Tim asked. "You didn't leave her up in interrogation, did you?"

Tony glanced at his watch. "She's probably chewing me out to Vance at the moment since Gibbs isn't around. Listen, I need Timmy… we got the bat signal… so let's roll."

Tim scratched behind his ear, promised Abby one more time that everything was going to work out, and followed Tony out of the lab.

Leah waited until they were gone to break the silence. "You know, Abby, cases with a lot of circumstantial evidence rarely get to court; Parsons has been fishing since he arrived here."

Abby frowned. "Well, I'm not about to let Evil McGee put Gibbs in jail."

"Okay, so let's make sure that doesn't happen," Leah said. "Do you have the identity of the CIA agent?"

"Yeah," Abby said, "his prints were in the system."

"His? It wasn't a woman?"

"No. So the agent that looked at your notebooks isn't our killer."

Leah sighed, softly. It would have been too easy if the person who had looked in her notebooks had been the one to kill Bodnar. "If the CIA and Mossad are in a deal together, the CIA might have sent the person to get as much information as possible from NCIS and then send that information onto the Mossad officer that killed Bodnar. Mossad isn't stupid, they used a female officer to plant some doubt if it was Ziva or not."

Abby gripped the edge of her table. "What can we do to prove that Gibbs wasn't responsible for this? If it was Mossad that killed Bodnar, they can't charge Gibbs with anything related to this case."

She licked her lips. Leah knew they had to leave no stone uncovered in this case. They were going to have go back as far as the day Eli David and Jackie Vance were killed. "Abby," she said, thinking of something she had made a note of in her notebook, "did Ziva return to Israel to bury her father?"

"Yes," Abby affirmed. "It was a few weeks after his death, when the initial investigation was wrapped."

"Did any of you attend the funeral with her?" Leah questioned.

"No; Tony offered but she turned him down."

"Is it possible… she met with Mossad while she was there?"

Abby felt a pit forming in her stomach. "She… she swore that life off years ago."

Leah knew not to take a naive approach to this. "But her father wasn't out of her life. He'd visited before his death; I was told that the last trip he was trying to repent." _You never fully swear off that kind of life, especially when your father is involved._

* * *

Tony knew that his partner was itching to ask as they sat in traffic on the way back to NCIS. They had worked effectively at the crime scene, barely speaking to one another, but they had worked together for so long they didn't need to speak. After, Tony had sent Ziva back with the car and the other two agents had taken the truck. "Go on," he urged, Tim, after several minutes of silence, "ask me."

Tim shifted in the passenger seat, uneasily. "Are you leaving NCIS after this is all over? Rumors are flying around the building that you are. Ziva crossed one too many lines with you this time, didn't she?"

"First, let me say I don't begin to understand what she's going through, losing her family like that," Tony said, tightly, "but to throw Leah to the wolves… and then to find out Parsons didn't want Leah to begin with, he wanted Gibbs… Somalia changed her, Tim. I'm not sure we can get her back; she's too far gone now."

"Did you love her?" Tim asked. He noticed the uneasy look in Tony's eyes. He sighed, "Tony, I'm not going to judge you if you did. We work long hours, dating is… well… pretty much nonexistent in our lives. Guys like us usually meet girls at work. We don't have time for bars and clubs. So, it makes perfect sense if you fell in love with Ziva."

"Does it?" the senior field agent tossed out. "She was involved in the death of my partner. Her brother killed Kate. It felt wrong that I was attracted to her, it felt even worse when that attraction started turning to feelings for her. She wasn't just a killer anymore, she was a beautiful, smart woman and I started to empathize. Her father had made her do those things, she wasn't like him… I told myself lies, Tim, to justify how I felt."

Tim looked out the window. The sun was starting to set behind the Capital. "I told myself those same lies, Tony, when I started to realize I liked Ziva, that she was becoming my friend."

Tony stared ahead, letting his eyes focus on a bumper sticker advocating peace on the car in front of them. "I don't think they were all lies, Tim. She was our friend. Until her father put her in the position to make a choice—us or them. She blamed herself for what happened to Michael Rivkin, she felt she had to complete his mission. She doesn't talk about Africa but we both know what happened there and we both know that she refused help afterwards."

"Are you in love with Leah?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Yeah," Tim whispered. "It is."

"See," Tony replied with a little smile, "you already had your answer."

Tim inhaled, slowly. For the last year he'd noticed that Tony was looking for more than one night stands or two week flings; for the last year Tim had noticed that his partner was waiting around for Ziva—until Leah walked into NCIS and started challenging him. "Have you told Leah you're leaving?"

Tony shook his head. "Not yet," he answered, softly. Truth be told, he wasn't sure how he was going to bring it up to her. She loved Washington, she loved her job, but he wanted to be with her, and he couldn't stay here. "I'm… going to ask her to come with me."

"Do you think she'll go?"

"I'm not sure but I don't want to leave regretting never finding out."


	27. Chapter 27

**Warnings:** Spoilers for s10

 _ **earthdragon:** Thanks for the review! _

* * *

"How did you know I was in the States?" Clayton Reeves asked her with a smirk. "Keeping tabs on me, love?"

"Hardly," Leah said, sitting down on the park bench with him. "Have you worked with Mossad recently?"

"I helped them track Bodnar for some help with a problem back in the UK," Clayton replied. "Why do you ask?"

Leah pulled out the photographs of the woman boarding the ship the night Bodnar was murdered. "We think that this woman is Mossad and she's responsible for killing Ilan Bodnar. I tried talking to the CIA. I'm sure you know how that went... they pretty much slammed the door in my face."

Clayton took the photograph and stared at it. "Sorry, love, it's hard to tell who this is. Could it be a Mossad officer? Sure. But it could also be you for all I know with this poor quality. Let me ask around, I have a few friends in high places like yourself; I might be able to get this cleared up for you. As for the CIA, there's probably a good reason they aren't talking. Everyone in the spy world has heard the rumors flying that they had a hand in Eli David and Arash Kazmi's deaths."

She took the photograph back and slipped into her bag. "You and I both know that the CIA was in contact with Parsa, they had someone on the inside passing on information to U.S Intelligence and Mossad. If they're involved, they were also responsible for the death of Jackie Vance, who turned into collateral damage. If that was to come to light they'd have big legal problems."

He chuckled. "Come on, Leah, we both know who was really responsible for Eli's death—Parsa. He's been gunning for Mossad for a long time. He probably promised the CIA and Mossad the world and stabbed them in the back by murdering Eli, Kazmi and taking Jackie Vance with them."

"I think Bodnar knew this; he was trying to tell me that the night he was killed," Leah said with a shake of her head.

"You know why he was murdered then," Clayton replied.

"Yeah, I know and I have a giant mess to clean up right now," Leah lamented.

Clayton stood, pat her knee affectionately and tipped his head towards a newcomer. "Looks like your boyfriend tracked you down," he said with a cheeky smile, alerting her to presence of someone else.

Leah glanced up to see Tony, briskly walking towards her. She wasn't surprised. She had told Abby she was running an errand and would be back in no time. By now she estimated she had been away from NCIS for over two hours.

"Don't worry," Clayton quipped as he walked away, "everything will work out in the end, love."

"Thanks," she snapped at him sarcastically as he left. Quickly, Leah turned a sweet smile on Tony. "Hi."

Tony glared after Clayton before sitting down. "Abby said you left NCIS two hours ago. She was starting to worry. What have you been up too?"

Leah looked at her patent leather pumps for a second. "Putting some pieces of the puzzle together. Or, at least trying to put the pieces together."

He nodded. "She said you asked about Ziva going to Israel to bury her father."

She sighed. "I did; she went alone and easily could have met with Mossad."

"I have call in about that," Tony responded, reaching for her hand. "Believe it or not I have some friends in Mossad. Can we talk for a moment?"

"About what?" Leah asked, anxiously. He had a serious look on his face. Instantly all the bad break-ups she'd gone through over the years bubbled to the surface.

Tony gently kissed her knuckles. He had to tell her that he was leaving D.C when this was all over. No matter the outcome with Gibbs, he wouldn't be able to work with Ziva anymore. The environment was already toxic, it would only get worse if he stuck around. "I'm going to ask for a transfer," he whispered, "once this has all been settled and we get Gibbs back at NCIS…I won't be able to work on the team anymore."

Leah felt her heart leap up into her throat. "You're…you're leaving Washington? What about… what about us, Tony? I thought… I know the last few weeks have been a little wild… but I thought everything was going well."

He smiled at her sadly. "Everything is going well, Leah. I know how much you love your job and your work, it's something that I admire in you… but I want… I want you to come with me… wherever I end up."

She sat there, dumbfounded. How many times had a man told her they were leaving? _Dozens._ Not one of those men had asked her to go with them. But could she go? Could she leave behind what she was doing in Washington to be with Tony?

"You don't have to give me your answer now," Tony assured her. "I just wanted to give you time to think about it."

Leah pulled on his suit coat, crashing her lips against his. He wove his hands into her hair, pulling her closer, deepening their embrace. "Yes," she sighed, pulling back from their kiss, "I'll go with you, wherever you go."

Tony was startled; he'd honestly thought she was going to end the relationship with him. While he had hoped and prayed she would say _yes,_ it had been the least likely answer he'd received in every scenario of telling her he'd run through his head. "Really?"

"I'm tired of work coming before everything else," she answered honestly. "I want more than a job. Don't you?"

"For a long time, I've wanted more," he supplied, just as honest. Tony got to his feet, pulling her up with him. "Let's go."

Leah allowed him to move through the park, his arm around her waist, and towards his car. "Where?"

Tony grinned, cheekily at her. "My apartment; we have a date with my bath tub and my bed."

* * *

In the middle of the night, Tony was woken up by Leah's phone chiming. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he noticed that Leah only sighed and snuggled closer to him. He looked at the clock on his nightstand; it was nearly two o'clock in the morning. Gently, Tony kissed Leah's temple and slid her out of his arms when her phone chimed again. Curiosity was getting the best of him—who could possibly be texting her this early in the morning?

Her phone was on the coffee table. Tony found a pair of sweat pants and pulled them on. He stepped into his living room and easily found her phone in the moonlight. Brushing his finger over the home button, the phone lit up and he saw a couple of text messages from Clayton Reeves. _Hello, love, if you want to find out if Miss David met with Mossad back in January, then you should talk to Adam Eschel; word has it that the two of them were keeping company if you know what I mean._

Tony clenched his jaw, placing Leah's phone back onto the table. Hundreds of thoughts began to run through his head, no wonder Ziva had told him to stay behind in D.C when he offered to go with her to Israel. "How could I be so stupid?" he hissed underneath his breath.

Controlling his anger, Tony erased the message from Leah's phone and put the device back on his coffee table. He'd handle this; there was no need to get Leah involved—she was involved enough as it was.

He took a deep breath and stood up. Tony would have to drag Ziva back into interrogation tomorrow morning, he was going to have to ask her about Adam and what she might have been doing with him. He'd be invading her privacy just like she had invaded his by telling Parsons about his relationship with Leah. It was not going to be a pretty sight. _Just what I need right now…_

For the first time in a long time he wished he could escape to Gibbs' basement, but the team leader had disappeared from D.C since his arrest—Tony had gone by the house to check up on him after confirming Gibbs had posted bail. No one seemed to know where the former marine had vanished to. His neighbors didn't seem concerned; they said Gibbs disappeared like this often.

"Tony?" Leah called sleepily from the doorway to his bedroom. "Why are you up?"

"I couldn't sleep," Tony lied with a tight smile. "Why are you up?"

"Bathroom and then I noticed you were missing."

"Well, since we're up… how about a drink?"

She looked at him, curiously. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

He sighed, heavily. "No. It's not okay. I'm trying to hold a team together that is coming unglued."

Leah didn't say a word, she moved towards his wine rack and pulled a bottle and then two glasses off. In the kitchen, she uncorked the wine and poured them each a generous glass.

Tony sat down at the island and reached for the glass she offered. He smiled, softly. "I could get used to this; sex and late night wine."

"We have to work tomorrow."

"I'm used to working on little sleep."

"Are you worried about Gibbs?"

"He shouldn't go to jail over Bodnar."

Leah took a sip of her wine. She had her people digging deeper, pulling everything they could on Parsa, because she was convinced more than ever that Parsa had orchestrated this whole thing; that he was the one behind all the death and destruction. "He won't," she promised him.

Tony studied her for a moment. He'd read her notebooks, he knew her theories, he just didn't know how she was going to prove them. "There's no evidence that Parsa was behind Eli and Jackie's deaths; there's no proof he was behind Bodnar's death."

She continued to sip her wine. "We don't need proof… we just need to create reasonable doubt."

He cocked an eyebrow. "And you think we can do that?"

"I have some things in my files that you haven't seen yet."

"And here I was, thinking, I had seen everything you had to offer."

Leah sat down next to him, his t-shirt falling off one of her slender shoulders. "Benham Parsa is smart, he knows how to manipulate; before Eli David was killed, I had been in contact with MI6 and Mossad, both were concerned about his silence, like he was plotting something. Chatter was all over the place, and no one knew Eli was in the States until he ended up dead."

Tony nursed his wine, gears beginning to turn. "Then how did the hitman know where to find him? Eli had to have told someone that he was leaving Israel? A close friend? Family?"

She ran her tongue over her lips. "He told Bodnar; we traced some cryptic text messages to Ilan three days before Eli was killed. And if we could trace them, Parsa could trace them as well."

He leaned back slightly. "So, Parsa easily could have planted evidence to lead back to Bodnar. Why didn't Morrow pursue this further?"

"Morrow was convinced that it was Bodnar. Ilan had the motive and the means to take out both Eli and Kazmi."

"Did Mossad kill Bodnar?"

"The CIA agent, the one you were telling me about that saw my notebooks?"

"Yeah? What about him?"

"Regular contact with Mossad."

Tony was itching to pull out his cellphone and find out if that CIA agent had called Mossad right after seeing Leah's notebooks, but then he remembered what time it was. He'd have Abby look into it the morning. He downed the rest of his wine. "Tomorrow, you focus on finding out if Mossad knew about your notebooks… I'm gonna find Gibbs."

Leah smirked at him. "I thought I was the one in charge of the Bodnar investigation? Are you giving me orders now, Agent DiNozzo?"

He chuckled. "I just let you order me around in the bedroom…"

She playfully rolled her eyes at him. "You rather _enjoyed_ my ordering you around…"

Swiftly, Tony got up off the stool and grabbed her around the waist. He pulled her towards him, and kissed her before scooping her up into his arms and carrying her back into the bedroom.


End file.
